The Cat, The Fox, and The Crimson Princess
by Purple-rain20
Summary: Kisuke Urahara died not quite fulfilling his plan. Can Yoruichi unite the Shinigami and Shinobi through a blond haired, blue eyed jinchuriki? Is the boy up for the challenges of a Shinigami/Shinobi hybrid? ON HOLD UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.
1. Chapter 1

**I do not own Bleach or Naruto. This story is solely for entertainment. Please support the official release. –Purple-rain20**

* * *

"No, you're lying. You have to be lying!"

A man with pale blond hair, and an even paler face, lay on his bed looking at his best friend with sad eyes. He never wanted her to find out, especially in this way. But he knew it was going to happen anyways. He smiled at his friend sadly, "Yoruichi my dear," he said weakly, "I didn't keep this from you to hurt you. I just wanted to…protect you." The woman named Yoruichi glared at the man through tears, "Idiot," she yelled at him, "If you had said something sooner, it wouldn't be like this! Why do you have to do this to yourself, Kisuke? Answer me!" The man named Kisuke now had a solemn expression on his face, he coughed slightly and answered, "I wanted to make a difference in the shinobi world." Yoruichi gave him a strange look, Shinigami and shinobi didn't associate in any shape or form, and each held a small amount of contempt for each other. The last few centuries were nothing but war between them, but the newer generations simply dismissed them as a myth. They hadn't interacted with each other since then. "What does the shinobi have to do with your condition, Kisuke?" she questioned angrily, "You're laying here dying before my eyes and you want to mention ninja?" The blond man smiled at his friend's tirade and sighed, "When a Shinigami dies, their Zanpakuto dies as well," he paused as he coughed, "I figured out a way to challenge that, so when I die, Benihime stays alive."

Yoruichi's eyes widened at her best friend's words and lowered herself back into her chair, "What? That's not possible! Benihime is a part of your soul!" The cat woman couldn't wrap her mind around what her lifelong friend was telling her. "After Ichigo defeated Aizen, I was messing around with the Hogyoku," Kisuke explained as he coughed more, but this time he coughed up blood. "Kisuke!" Yoruichi exclaimed fearfully as she rushed to his side. He waved her off gently, "It's al…right, I'm fine," he said quietly. "I wanted to do more test on the Hogyoku, I wanted to see if I could materialize the Zanpakuto itself into its being by the will of their wielder," he chuckled lightly, "it didn't work as well as I thought." Yoruichi frowned heavily, "You have to be kidding me! You risked your life for a stupid experiment!" She couldn't believe what she was hearing, her closest friend, and her lover (on random occasions), he was withering away right before eyes over something stupid he did, and she couldn't do a thing about it. She started to cry and Kisuke held her hand to console her, "It's alright, Yoru-chan," he whispered, "please don't cry." Yoruichi blinked back tears, "Is there anything I can do for you?" she asked as she willed herself to stop whimpering. The blond man smiled softly and pointed towards a closet door, "Could you open the door and take out Benihime for me," he asked weakly. A few moments later Yoruichi came back with Benihime, Kisuke had turned it back to its _katana _form. He took it from her and laid it down beside him. "Well, here's the real thing I want you to do," he said, "I want you to go to the World of the Shinobi, and give this sword to a boy named Naruto Uzumaki. And train him in the way of the Shinigami." Yoruichi immediately protested, "Are you crazy? You want me to give Benihime to a ninja? Old Man Yama will rip me apart!" The cat woman was staunchly against Kisuke's final request, but still knew she needed to do this anyways. Urahara chuckled as he played with his paper fan, "Heh, you're right, but look at the big picture. We know already that the Quincy's are coming back for revenge, and by giving the boy my Zanpakuto, we could possibly earn the shinobi's trust for the upcoming war."

Yoruichi scowled as she tightened her hands into fists, the damned Quincy's announced only a few months ago that they were going to take over the Soul Society in the upcoming years. When they were going to do it, no one knew. That's why preparation was vital. "What's so special about this boy?" she questioned him. Urahara put on a serious expression, "He has the Kyubi inside of him, and if you mix that power in with Benihime's power, he will be immensely strong. Perfect against the Quincy's." Kisuke waited for Yoruichi's response, he knew that she wouldn't like the idea of that, just turning over the power of the Shinigami to a bunch of knife-throwing brutes. "So he's basically a tool? A tool of war? That's insane!" Urahara coughed violently for a few minutes before answering her, "He won't be a tool unless he wants to be, he'll be the link between Shinigami and Shinobi, and he will end the conflict between us from the last centuries. He's special, Yoru-chan."

The purple-haired woman resigned herself to the fact that this Uzumaki kid could save the world if she does this. "What does he look like?" she asked curiously. Urahara hummed playfully, "Ok, let's see: blond hair, blue eyes, whisker marks on his face, huge temper, oh my. He'll be a handful for you to train, alright. Sort of like Ichigo." Yoruichi chuckled, training another Ichigo, albeit a temperamental, was going to be a challenge. Kisuke rummaged through his pajama pocked and took out a picture of the kid and a white-haired man. "This is Naruto-kun…. and his guard…ian, Jiraiya. I've spoken to Jiraiya a few times… and he knows what you're….going to do." he said as he gasped for breath Yoruichi took the picture and put in in her pocket and stroked Kisuke's cheek, "I'll do my best, Kisuke-kun, I promise." Kisuke smiled, "Thank you, Yoru-chan. I…know. I…love….you," he said with his dying breath. Yoruichi let the tears that were forming in her eyes now fall freely as she sobbed into her deceased friend's chest.

"I love you too, Kisuke."

* * *

A little while later, Yoruichi left Kisuke's room and was immediately confronted by Ichigo, Rukia, Orihime, Uryu, and Chad. "How's Urahara?" Ichigo questioned quickly, "Is he-?" Yoruichi put a hand on his shoulder to interrupt him, "No, Ichigo," she said quietly, "he's gone." Ichigo's face twisted up in grief as he punched the wall, "Damn it!" Rukia turned to console Orihime, who was starting to cry. Chad and Uryu kept silent, still shocked by the news.

Yoruichi sighed as she ran a hand through her hair, "I'm going to be gone for a few years, Kisuke wanted me to finish a mission of his." Rukia looked at her curiously, "Like what?" Yoruichi put up one hand that had Benihime in it and the other hand that held the picture, "He wanted me to give Benihime to this boy, with it, he can save the world."

Ichigo gave her a puzzled look as he examined the picture, the boy was wearing a headband with a weird squiggle on it. "That's a shinobi head band," he murmured, "he wants you to give the Zanpakuto to a shinobi?" Yoruichi nodded, "This boy is special, I have to leave now."

As Yoruichi headed for the door, Ichigo called out to her, "Aren't you at least going to stay for a funeral?" he question angrily. The purple haired woman turned around slowly as the tears started their course down her cheeks, "I wish I could, but this can't wait. He'll understand. If I need help, I'll send for you."

Yoruichi left the shop and shunpo-ed her way to the Land of the Shinobi. Even as fast as she was, it would at least take a month to get there. _"Don't you worry, Kisuke," _she thought as she traveled.

"_I won't let you down."_

* * *

**I was dying to write this story! Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**The Naruto in my story will have mastered Wind Chakra and the ability to mix it with the Rasengan. Plus, he will be much more mature than the original, but still have perverted tendencies.**

A blond boy and a white-haired man sat in front of a tent lazily. The heat of the sun became too intense to continue on with their training for that day. "Agh," the boy complained, "it's too damn hot! I'm not even done training yet!" The man watched his student whine with an amused expression, as much as Naruto had grown up in the past three years, he was still a child. A child who had a long way to go. Naruto was about to continue whining when a woman with purple hair and bright golden eyes appeared out of nowhere and landed in front of them.

"Hello boys!"

Naruto looked at the purple haired woman slowly. It was obvious that the woman was immensely attractive, but she gave off the vibe that she was much older than she looked. As friendly as she looked, he knew not to trust her yet, "Who are you?" he questioned her sternly as he drew a kunai knife. He glanced to his left and saw his mentor with a relaxed stance and a curious expression on her face. "Well, my name's Yoruichi and I am here for something very, very important," she tried to say as friendly as possible. "So I take it that you're the one Kisuke sent here, right? How is he?" Yoruichi sighed sadly and closed her eyes, "He died last month," she said sadly. Jiraiya nodded in silence as Naruto piped up, "Who's Kisuke? And what's going on?" he questioned impatiently. Yoruichi looked the young shinobi over with her cat-like eyes. The boy was very handsome; his blond hair stood up on end and shined like the sun. His muscles were toned and defined. _"Huh, so he likes orange too,"_ she thought amusedly as she looked his outfit choice over.

"I guess I should start from the beginning," she said confidently.

0000

Naruto stared wide-eyes at the purple haired woman as she explained the past years' worth of facts to him. What he could basically put together was that she was a Shinigami, some dude named Aizen nearly took over the world, another dude named Ichigo beat him, and a bunch of dudes named Quincy's are planning to take over the world. Oh, and that she wanted him to use a dead guy's sword. "So wait, you're telling me that I'm the only one who can save the world? What the hell?" he exclaimed as he paced around the campsite angrily. The cat woman sighed as she munched on some fish they had caught. "I know it sounds weird, but it's really important that I teach you how to harness these powers," she turned to Jiraiya, "if that's alright." Jiraiya nodded and smiled, "It's fine, this training will be very beneficial to Naruto," he looked at his apprentice, "I've seen the Shinigami in action, one or two of their captains along could take on the Akatsuki easily."

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise, the thought of ascending to the level of a captain and defeating the Akatsuki sounded like a worthwhile offer. Then with that same power, he can bring Sasuke back. "So where's this Kisuke guy's sword?" Yoruichi opened a scroll and the sword came out. She handed to the blond boy gently, "Be careful," she whispered, "she can be very temperamental." Naruto frowned, how could a piece of metal have emotions? He was just about to question her about that when he remembered the Zanpakuto were spirits with feelings. "I would tell you her name, but that would defeat the purpose of your training anyways," Yoruichi said with a laugh. Naruto rolled the sword between her fingers; it was the average length of a _katana_ and felt just right in her hands. "So I have to find out her name by myself?" he asked her quietly. Yoruichi nodded and turned to Jiraiya, "This kid is smart, completely unlike the info in the file Kisuke gave to me." Jiraiya nodded and smiled, "He's changed quite a bit," he said proudly, "Hell, he might even surpass me." Yoruichi smiled warmly and started to walk Naruto through the process of Jinzen. He seemed to understand almost immediately, Jiraiya had taught him out to draw out the power of the Kyubi through a similar process. "Are you ready?" the cat woman asked as Naruto laid the unsheathed Zanpakuto across his lap. "Yep," he closed his eyes and started to meditated. Suddenly he was in a place almost like a canal, with calf-deep water at the bottom. "Wait, this is where the Kyubi stays!" he murmured to himself as he looked around.

"**Hey kid! What the hell's going on?"**

Before Naruto could react, a woman with red hair and a white kimono rushed him and gripped him by his shirt, **"Whatever you did to me, you're gonna regret it!" **she growled at him as she looked around,** "When I get my hands on Kisuke, he's gonna wish he-!"**

"_**Will you shut up already, woman? You're giving me a headache!"**_

The disgruntled Kyubi glared at the kid and the woman in anger. Not only did he hate being sealed into some runt, he also hated his new roommate who happened to appear out of nowhere a month ago. **"You're not supposed to speak to a woman that way, you stupid fox! Why don't you go lick yourself somewhere else?" **Naruto watched the argument between the Kyubi and the woman wide-eyed. He timidly approached the woman and spoke to her, "Well, about Kisuke, he's sort of….dead." The woman just stared at Naruto blankly before screaming, **"That idiot! I knew he shouldn't have done his freak experiments on me! Now I'm stuck with a stupid cat and a boy!" **The Kyubi snarled and attempted to stick one of his claws out of the cage to kill the woman, _**"I'm a fox, damn it!" **_The red haired woman approached Naruto again and pointed a threatening finger in his face, **"Alright, kid, you're gonna tell me who you are, what happened to Kisuke, and why the hell that cat keeps yelling at me!" **Naruto gulped and backed away from the woman as far as he could before speaking, "Well," he said calmly, "My name's Naruto Uzumaki, and I'm your new owner. And, uh, Kisuke died trying to give you your own body. Oh, and Kyubi there owns this, uh, sewer."

The woman started to run around screaming, **"What the hell? I'm stuck in a shinobi now?!" **The woman was absolutely livid, as much as she didn't like Kisuke, she would much rather be stuck with him rather than a lowly-shinobi. Hell, she would've wanted to die along with him if it had happened that way. "I know you don't want to be here, but it's really important that you hear me out," Naruto said to her. He went on to explain everything that Yoruichi told him; Kisuke's death, the Quincy threat, and the alliance between the Shinigami and Shinobi. She watched the boy with a curious expression, he was very attractive. She shook those thoughts from her mind and spoke, **"As much as I hate Shinobi, and for the matter, Shinigami too. I'll go along with this charade because I don't intended on wasting my time here," **she said haughtily. Naruto grinned happily, he had finally gotten her to comply, "So what's your name then?" he asked impatiently. The woman sighed heavily; the kid was almost just like Kisuke. Impatient. Even if she didn't like Urahara, she would mourn his death privately. **"My name is Benihime, the Crimson Princess," **she said proudly, **"I won't be starting training with you now, so goodbye!" **She lifted her hands and a flash of light enveloped Naruto, and before he could scream, he was gone. _**"So, a Zanpakuto and a Tailed Beast as roommates in a runt's head," **_the Kyubi sneered, _**"it feels like a sequel to Jersey Shore." **_

Naruto opened his eyes hurriedly and say Jiraiya and Yoruichi standing in front of him. Yoruichi smiled at the boy and patted his head, "So, what's her name, Naru-kun?" Naruto blushed at the pet name and stammered out, "Her name is Benihime, the Crimson Princess." Jiraiya laughed, "More and more women, haha!" Yoruichi turned on her heels and walked back to the campsite.

"Training starts tomorrow, bright and early!"

**There is going to be a time skip in the story to when they return to Konoha, but I'll make sure to write flashbacks of the training when needed. Thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3

Are you ready, Yoru-chan?"

The cat woman nodded warmly at blond teenager, it had been six months since they started training and she and Jiraiya feel that Naruto was ready to return to the village. His Zanjutsu training wasn't quite masterful, but he could hold his own again a seated officer. His Kido training was slow, though, but he had mastered a few low to mid-level Bakudo, and his Hado skilled were above average for someone who had just started. He could now use mid-level Hado without any incantations. She never knew that those 'Shadow-Clones' were so effective. But his greatest asset was his Shunpo, even though he wasn't as fast as Yoruichi, he was fast enough that all you could see was a yellow flash. "Naruto-kun, when we get back to the Konoha, please don't make a scene," she warned, "we don't need all the girls killing each other over you." Naruto blushed and Jiraiya growled, "Yeah right, the kid's hasn't even had his first kiss yet!" Naruto pointed a threatening finger at his mentor, "I have so! And if you don't recall, you've been chasing after Tsunade-baa-chan for nearly forty years!" As Jiraiya sulked in his own self-pity, Yoruichi looked at Naruto. She was curious to find out who the lucky girl was, "What was her name, Naru-kun?" Naruto turned a bright shade of red and lowered his eyes, "I-It wasn't a girl, it was my teammate, Sasuke," he looked up to see the cat-woman stifling a laugh, "But it was an accident!" he finished quickly. Yoruichi waved him off dismissively, "it's ok if you roll that way, Naru-kun, I don't judge, now let's get going." Naruto frowned as he lifted Jiraiya by the collar as the Shunpo-ed to Konoha.

* * *

"Heh, this place looks impressive."

Yoruichi marveled at the front gate of the Konoha they had just walked through. The Seireitei had nothing on this place, there were so many colors and people everywhere, and she felt like a little kid in a candy store. "Meh, I've seen better," Jiraiya said dismissively, "I've been all over the shinobi world and seen much better!" Naruto punched Jiraiya on the arm as he adjusted Benihime on his waist, "Shut up Ero-Sennin! The Konoha is the best place on Earth!" Naruto didn't appreciate when someone spoke down about his home. He was so happy to be back he couldn't contain his excitement. He climbed up a nearby pole and looked out over the village. "It's so good to be home!" he yelled. Yoruichi couldn't help but smile at kid, he had grown up so much in the past six months it was astounding. He was wearing an orange kimono top with black trimmings **(A/N: Sort of like Sasuke's first Shippuden outfit)**, the opening of the kimono came all the way down his torso, exposing his firm abdominal muscles. He also had a white sash tied to his waist. His pants were black and had orange stripes along the hem, and he wore black sandals. His hair was still long, **(A/N: Kind of like Yondaime's, but with a ponytail that comes down to his mid-back) **and he had a new Konoha forehead protector that was long and black. Benihime was secured in the sash. Before Naruto could take in more of the view, he heard a shout. "Naruto ni-chan!" He looked down and saw Konohamaru waving to him. He jumped back down and greeted him, "Wow," he exclaimed, "you've gotten so big!" Konohamaru marveled at Naruto, he gave off the aura of someone who shouldn't be messed with. Before Konohamaru could say anything else, Tsunade appeared, "Naruto!" she exclaimed as she hugged him, "I'm glad you're back!"

Yoruichi watched the reunions curiously, the little kid named Konohamaru looked like he could be strong one day, and the blond woman looked like the type of person not to be messed with. She didn't feel comfortable here, but, if it made Naruto happy, she would stick around. After all, she had to protect him from whatever she felt was risky. "Don't I get a hug?" Jiraiya asked Tsunade as he approached her. Yoruichi noticed a faint blush on the woman's face as she hugged Jiraiya. The cat woman thought it was the right time to introduce herself. "My names is Yoruichi Shihoin, and I've been training Naruto in Zanjutsu," she said vaguely, she didn't want to mention anything specific yet. Tsunade nodded, "Oh yes, Jiraiya sent me a message telling me that Naruto is quite the swordsman," she looked at the blond boy again. He looked like quite the man, _"If only he were a few decades older," _Tsunade thought wistfully. Suddenly, a puff of smoke appeared and a silver-haired man with a mask on his face raised his hand in greeting, "Yo." Naruto smiled widely and ran up to meet the man, "Kakashi-sensei!" he exclaimed. The masked man looked at his student proudly, the boy was nearly as tall as him now and he looked very strong. _"Sensei, I wish you could see him now," _he thought. "Well, you've changed into quite the man, Naruto," Kakashi said as he looked the blond boy over. Before Naruto could respond, he heard someone call his name.

"Naruto?"

He turned around and saw a pink-haired girl gape at him with wide eyes. Sakura couldn't believe what she was seeing, the idiot she used to make fun of as children had turned into a man! Her eyes ate up his appearance, she saw his toned pectorals and his firm abs underneath his low-cut kimono. His hair was so long, she felt the urge to touch it. And he even had a sword, all the cool guys use swords. "Sakura-chan?" Naruto said to her as he waved a hand in her face, "Are you okay?" Sakura snapped out of her day dreams and addressed her teammate, "Wow Naruto! It's been so long! I can't believe it's you!" she said as she blushed slightly. Naruto smiled as he put a hand on Benihime, "I've gotten stronger too." Yoruichi looked the pink hair girl over, she didn't like her already. She gave off this weird vibe of mistrust, and she decided to introduce herself, "I'm Yoruichi, I've been training Naru-kun in Zanjutsu," she stuck out a hand, "it's nice to meet you." Sakura took the mysterious woman's hand hesitantly, "I'm Sakura Haruno." Sakura felt something weird as she shook hands with the purple-haired woman, it was like the woman was full of this weird energy. Before Sakura could come up with any other explanations, Kakashi cut in. "As much as we want to get reacquainted again, I'm afraid that will have to wait," he gestured to Tsunade, "Tsunade-sama asked me personally to test your abilities, Naruto, so we are going to spar a bit." Naruto nodded in understanding, "Hai, Kakashi-sensei. I look forward to it."

Konohamaru grew tired of the talk between the adults and pointed to Benihime, "Your sword is so cool! Can I hold it!" Naruto smiled weakly and held on to the Zanpakuto, he didn't want Konohamaru to mess around with it. "Sorry Konohamaru-kun, that can't happen, it's a sword only I can use." Konohamaru frowned and pouted, "Fine! I'll just find a better one, Ni-chan!" Kakashi tapped Naruto's shoulder and gestured in the direction of the training field.

"Let's get going."


	4. Chapter 4

Yoruichi and Naruto walked side-by-side to the training field as Kakashi, Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Sakura trailed behind them. Naruto could sense Tsunade's heartbeat race every time Jiraiya said something to her and smiled, _"It is about time! Baa-chan finally gets it!" _he thought happily. He also felt a pang of regret in his heart when he remembered that Sakura's never felt the same about it, all she did when she saw him again was gape at him; like every other girl. He was glad to have Yoru-chan there to support him, he always felt better around her. "We're here, Naruto," Kakashi said as they arrived on the field. Before they could begin, they hear a shout. Naruto looks beyond to see the rest of the Konoha 11 sitting in a set of bleachers down the field. They waved enthusiastically at Naruto as he turned to Tsunade, "I didn't know you invited an audience," he deadpanned. Tsunade shrugged her shoulders, "It's not my fault your friends missed you," she gestured to everyone besides Naruto and Kakashi, "let's head over to the stands." Once everyone was settled, Naruto and Kakashi took their battle places. "It looks like I'm going to need this," Kakashi said as he lifted his headband covering his Sharingan. "Heh," Naruto chuckled as he disappeared in a yellow flash.

Kakashi stared around wide-eyed, Naruto had disappeared completely! On the other side of field in the bleachers, Yoruichi laughed proudly, "Haha! That's my Naru-kun!" Ino tapped Sakura, who was sitting next to her, "Who's that woman?" she asked quietly. Sakura turned to her, "That's Yoruichi, she trained Naruto in Zanjutsu." Ino stared at Naruto dreamily, "Wow, he's a hunk now! Those abs are to die for!" Sakura scowled and turned her attention back onto the field, where Kakashi was still struggling to find the blond. Whenever she looked at Naruto, she felt like she was about to faint. He was just so, appetizing, she even caught Tsunade staring at him! Whatever this Yoruichi did, it turned Naruto into a completely different person. "Hey lady!" Kiba exclaimed, "How did that idiot move so fast?" Yoruichi stood up on the bleachers and shunpo-ed over to where Kiba was. She leaned over into his face, "You mean this?" she said quietly. The dog user nodded fearfully and the cat woman laughed, "That, kid, is called Shunpo. Naruto isn't quite yet on my level, but he's closer than any of my other students." The purple haired woman waved her arms to get the attention of the still flabbergasted group, "Hello?"

* * *

Naruto and Kakashi were now engaging in hand-to-hand combat, the silver-haired man couldn't relax even once in this battle. Naruto was on a level too close to comfort to his. Kakashi could barely land a hit, and on the rare occasion he did, Naruto just disappeared in a yellow flash. And now he was fighting about four Naruto's now, _"Damn, he's just like Minato-sensei!" _Kakashi thought as be bobbed and weaved. He noticed now that there were only three Naruto's fighting him and before he realized.

**Futon: Rasengan!  
**

Kakashi barely got his substitution off in time to avoid the now-completed Rasengan. He couldn't believe what he just saw; his sensei's son just mastered the technique even Yondaime couldn't master! Naruto stumbled a bit as he missed Kakashi, the problem with **Futon: Rasengan **was that it wasn't as stable as a normal **Rasengan**, so he had to concentrate on keeping its form and hitting the target at the same time. He straightened himself out and grinned at his sensei, "What do you think, Kakashi-sensei? The **Rasengan **is finally complete!" Kakashi smiled at his student under his mask, Naruto had just accomplished the feat that, Minato, Jiraiya, and he couldn't even reach. Kakashi sighed, "You were always full of surprises, Naruto," he said as he started activating his hand signs. Naruto's eyes widened in realization as he and Kakashi said the same thing.

**Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu!**

A giant dragon made of water snaked its way out of a nearby lake and started to swirl around Kakashi. The amount of power coming from the dragon was enough to shake the earth slightly. Across the field, the Konoha 11 where slightly shaken by the sheer force of the technique. Yoruichi smirked and whispered over to Jiraiya, "I told you so! Now Naru-kun is going to have to use Hado!" Jiraiya frowned as he handed Yoruichi a few ryo bills, "You got lucky!" Sakura, of course heard the conversation and stared wide-eyed at Yoruichi, she had no idea what Hado is, so she decided to tap Yoruichi on her shoulder and ask. "Um, excuse me, Yoruichi-san," she said timidly, "but what is Hado?" Yoruichi looked Sakura over as she racked her mind on what to say to the curious girl. Even though she was Naru-kun's teammate, she didn't want the natures of Shinigami techniques to get out too soon. "It's a special attack technique that only Naruto and I can use," she said firmly, refusing to go into detail. Sakura frowned, she didn't like how this mysterious woman was keeping Naruto's own business from her! She looked over at Tsunade, but she was too busy chatting intently to Jiraiya to notice. She slumped in her seat as she continued to watch the fight. Meanwhile, Naruto gritted his teeth, he had already used up a fair amount of energy and didn't want to put too much into another one, so he decided to use a Hado technique. He knew that it would be potentially dangerous if Kakashi didn't realize the elemental base of the attack, but he knew that his sensei would figure it out. He stuck out his right hand and pointed his index and middle finger at the water dragon, which was starting to come right at him. He channeled his energy and shouted out,

**Hado #4: Byakurai!**

Kakashi gaped at the bolt of lightning that erupted from Naruto's fingers, he knew that the boy had the **Futon** chakra nature, but not the **Raiton** ability! Plus, it didn't even look like a normal **Raiton** jutsu, he didn't form any hand signs and the lightning looked to uniform and clean. He was blown back at the sheer force of the explosion and fell over. As he righted himself, Naruto Shunpo-ed over to him and pointed the tip of Benihime at his sensei. "Is that it, Kaka-sensei?" Naruto asked with a smirk, "I know I've improved, but I know you can put up a better fight than that!" Kakashi scowled playfully, "My my, aren't you the arrogant one? I'm not that old!" he said as she **Shunshin **away to gain some ground. Whatever technique Naruto used, any others he may know cannot be underestimated. Back at the stands, Yoruichi frowned, she didn't want Naruto to use Benihime now. But, the more she thought about it, it could be a good thing; if his peers felt intimidated by him, they are less likely to try to hurt him like they did when he was a child. Of course, it may have just been your standard childhood antics, but she couldn't tell if one of his peers held any ill-will to him. She stood up and shouted to Naruto, "Naru-kun! Go ahead and use her!" Tsunade turned to look at Yoruichi and narrowed her eyes suspiciously, _"Use her? What is she talking about?" _Tsunade felt a hand wrap around her own hand and turned back around to see Jiraiya smiling at her. "Just wait, Hime," he said to her softly, "you'll find out soon."

Naruto looked at Yoruichi with a surprised expression, she had told him repeated times not to use Benihime unless it was a dire situation; but now she's telling him it's okay to use it. Something must have happened as he was fighting Kakashi to somehow convince her that this was the best course of action. "I guess I can pull her out now," he said as he stuck out his right hand, which held Benihime. The reiatsu coming from Naruto and Benihime was suffocating, most of the people in the bleachers were gasping for breath slightly. Sakura couldn't believe the amount of power Naruto had, it was amazing! She took another chance and tapped Yoruichi again, who turned around with a smile on her face. "Don't even bother ask," Yoruichi said before Sakura could ask anything, "just watch."

"**Okiro, Benihime!**

After the dust cleared, Kakashi could get a better look at Naruto. His sword had changed from a regular_ katana _to something he had never seen before. The sword was long and sleek and had a decorative crimson tassel on the end. It basically looked like a display sword. He tried to see if he could find out where the source of power was with his Sharingan, but he picked up nothing. "I don't know what you just did there," the copy-nin said as drew a kunai, "but you can't win!" Kakashi rushed at Naruto, and before he could get away, he ran right into a bright red shield. He backed away from it and kicked the shield, but it didn't budge. Naruto had the sword pointed forward as he said, **"Chikasumi no Tate." ** Kakashi tried to come up with a back-up, but had no such luck. Before he could even admit defeat, he felt the crimson energy tie him up in a net. He tried to move, but he was stuck. "**Shibari, Benihime," **Naruto said as his Zanpakuto reverted back into its katana form. He pointed the sword right between Kakashi's eyes.

"It looks like I win, Kaka-sensei!"

* * *

**I said before that I was planning on taking this story in to the current arc of Bleach where they are fighting the Quincy's. I'm sorry for doing this, but none of the Bleach arcs will be appearing in this story anymore. I'm too pressed for time as of late, this is a critical year for my studies so I can't devote my entire attention to this story. But of course, our favorite Bleach characters will be appearing in the story to either go on missions with Naruto or to train him further. There may be even a few Hollow vs Shinobi battles as well. I will progress with the story all the way until the Pain Arc, then I will have to take some time to figure out how things will go from there. Maybe in the future I can try to add on the Quincy war arc, but don't expect it to be definite. Thanks for reading!**


	5. Chapter 5

The Konoha 11 couldn't believe what they had just witnessed; the idiot blond they had not seen in three years just defeated the strongest Jonin in the village! They stared at Yoruichi, who was clapping and congratulating Naruto on his win. Whoever this woman was, she did a hell of a job. "Pardon me," Neji said as he approached her, "but how did you train Naruto to become so powerful?" Yoruichi grinned at the Hyuga and tugged on his hair, "Sorry, that'll have to wait a bit!" she shunpoed away, leaving the Hyuga sweatdropping at the current situation. "Whoever she is," Ino said as the group gathered together, "she's not really serious about her job." Sakura crossed her arms and stared down the field at Naruto, Kakashi, and Yoruichi, "I'm going to ask Naruto personally," she said firmly as she sprinted down the field. The group sprinted after her. A few moments later, everyone arrives and Naruto smiles at them, "So what do you think?" he asked as he flexed his arms, "I'm much better, right?" Sakura walked over to him and stood directly in front of him. "I think we deserve to know about your new abilities," she said as she turned to Yoruichi, "since no one else is willing to tell us." Naruto chucked nervously, he didn't want Yoruichi and Sakura clawing out each other's throats. He was about to explain to Sakura why he could say anything when Yoruichi spoke up. "It's alright, you can tell your friends," she said as he patted his shoulder, "who knows? Maybe it'll be beneficial!" Naruto nodded and cleared his throat.

"Well, when Ero-sennin and I were still traveling, Yoruichi showed up. She gave me this sword, it's a Zanpakuto; the one's that Shinigami use." He paused to let his friends sink things in. "Her name is Benihime, and Yoruichi wanted me to help make things better between the Shinigami and the Shinobi."

"I-I thought t-the Sh-Shinigami were just a myth," Hinata said as she stepped closer. She was just as enamored with Naruto's new appearance, but didn't let show like the other girls. Naruto grinned at her, "That's what I thought too, Hinata-chan," he said before Hinata started to wobble dangerously, "but Yoruichi's living proof that they're real." Sakura looked quickly over to Yoruichi, who nodded. "Yep! I'm a Shinigami!" she said as she spun around slowly, "Even if I look all young and delicious, I'm over 300 years old!" Everyone except Naruto and Jiraiya gaped at the purple haired wonder; she didn't look a day over twenty! "Yeah, isn't that impressive?" Jiraiya asked the group, "Hey, Tsunade, you should take her advice! I'm sure you-OOF!" Tsunade punched Jiraiya into the forest and he landed with a loud thud in a tree. "I'm not fucking old!" she said as she readied herself to inflict another punch. Fortunately, no one else was as foolish as Jiraiya and kept their mouths shut. "Uh yeah, and I have Shinigami powers too," he said as he backed away from the group. "What I used against Kakashi sensei was Hado, and now I'll use Bakudo!" Naruto said as he extended a hand towards Kakashi, who was still catching his breath. He hurriedly tried to back away, "Hey, wait-!"

**Bakudo #1: Sai!**

Kakashi's hands were wrenched behind his back and he was forced to the ground with a thud. He struggled for a few moments before looking at Naruto sadly and whining, "Why must I have to be a test dummy?" Naruto shrugged and rubbed the back of his head, "Ah- You were the closest anyways!" he said as he released the Kido. "When are we going to meet more of your Shinigami friends?" Tsunade asked as she helped Jiraiya up, surprising everyone. Yoruichi tapped a finger to her chin and thought for a few moments before saying, "Well, the Soul Society is supposed to send a few Shinigami here to provide some support." She was afraid to see what Old Man Yama would think about this, but he didn't seem to care at all. He was neither supportive nor unsupportive. She reasoned that having Ichigo as a Substitute Shinigami softened him up a bit, and the Soul Society did need backup in case of war. "Do you know who it is?" Naruto asked as his eyes widened in fear slightly. Even though he hadn't met any of the Captains yet, he knew not to mess with any of them. He knew that most of the captains would have no problem killing him if he tried anything suspicious. "Well, all I know that they are sending a captain and their lieutenant here to help with negotiations," Yoruichi said as she started to grin deviously, "I bet you want Soifon here, right?" Naruto paled at Yoruichi's question and gulped, the 2nd squad captain had sent him many letters threatening to kill him if he ever hurt Yoruichi. "Please tell me she's not coming," he said weakly as Yoruichi laughed. "I have no idea, but it has to be someone who can handle this well."

Sakura's eyes widened at hearing that more of these Shinigami would be coming for negotiations with the Shinobi forces. "I thought that it was only going to be Shihoin-san that would be here," she demanded, rather than asked. Yoruichi raised an annoyed eyebrow at the pink-haired kunoichi. "Silly girl," she said to the girl condescendingly, "do you really think I can unite the Shinobi and the Shinigami by myself? Naruto said you were smart, but I don't buy it," she said as she started to walk away. "Let's leave, Naru-kun, you need your rest." Naruto looked at his friends hastily and waved, "I'll see you all later, bye!" He ran after Yoruichi, leaving Sakura fuming. Tsunade took her by the shoulder and turned her around. "I don't want you fighting with Shihoin-san," she warned her student, "there are some things that you're not supposed to know, so keep your mouth shut if you don't have anything useful to say!" Sakura nodded glumly at her mentor and excused herself to leave. As she arrived back into the village, she headed straight for the library. She knew the place by heart, so she decided to take a look in the 'Mythic Legends' section. It may have taken her a while, but she finally found a book about Shinigami. Even though most of the information was vague, she knew much of this stuff already from what Naruto told her. Towards the end of the book, there was a photo of a crude drawing of the Shinigami. From what Sakura could tell, there were 13 people in the photo. One was an old man, who was in the middle. To his left, was a dark-skinned woman with short, purple hair. _"That must be Shihoin," _she thought automatically as she shut the book slowly. At least she knew that Yoruichi wasn't lying about being a near immortal spirit, but she must have other motives! As she left the library, a million thoughts ran through her mind. The most prominent one was this.

"_Whoever you are, Shihoin; I will find out who you really are!"_

* * *

Yoruichi crinkled up her nose in disgust and squinted her eyes as she entered Naruto's very dusty apartment. The place looked like Santa's Winter Wonderland; there was dust on everything, plus it was way too small for him, and even more so for the both of them. "What a dump," she said as she ran a finger along the table, "there's no way we can both stay here." Naruto tossed their bags to the sighed and collapsed onto the couch, causing a large dust cloud to pop up. "I don't care if it's small," he said between coughs, "just as long as I have a roof over my head, I think we can manage." Yoruichi pouted started to take off her clothes. "W-what are you doing?" he asked nervously as he sat up quickly. He knew that Yoruichi lacked any form of shame whatsoever, he and Jiraiya have fallen victim many times to her strip-teases. "What does it look like?" she asked as she was finally stripped to her underwear, "I'm going to bed." Naruto grimaced, "I only have one bed, Yoru-chan!" Yoruichi grinned widely and stretched out a beckoning hand.

"Then I guess we're just going to have to share then."


	6. Chapter 6

Yoruichi groaned as the light from the sun hit her face, she opened her eyes and sighed. She didn't like waking up in the mornings; one reason was that she hated mornings general. The second reason was that, Kisuke wasn't there to wake her up anymore. She put aside her thoughts of her eternal friend and looked to her right. Naruto was still asleep and precariously perched on the edge of the bed. She couldn't help but chuckle; he looked like a complete god on the outside, yet he was still a boy on the inside. She leaned over and lightly poked Naruto's cheek. "Wake up, Naruto," she said softly as Naruto started to stir. "Yoruichi?" he mumbled, "Agh, I don't wanna get up now. Five more minutes!" Yoruichi swung her legs off of the bed and picked up Naruto's clothes from off a chair and threw it at him. "No time for that, we're leaving soon!" Naruto rubbed his forehead and frowned, "It's been less than a day and we have to do more crap?!" He drew the blanket back over himself and turned away from Yoruichi. The cat woman sighed and strode back over to Naruto and sat on the bed next to him. She leaned over and whispered in his ear. _"If you do what I say,"_ she purred quietly, _"I'll buy you all of the ramen your little heart desires." _Naruto sat up immediately and stared the cat woman in her eyes, "R-really?" he stammered at her. The purple haired woman smiled and stood up; swaying her hips as she left his room.

"Oh yes, really."

* * *

An orange haired buxom bombshell attempted to shield her eyes from the blazing sun to no avail. She and her two companions had been traveling for a week now and her patience was running thin. All there was in this place were trees and grass! "Taichoo~!" she exclaimed as they continued their journey, "Are we there yet?" A short, white haired man clenched his fists and willed himself not to turn around and explode; as a captain of the Gotei 13, he was expected to be the epitome of patience and perfection. But having a lazy, self-centered lieutenant didn't help him keep that image. "I told you, Matsumoto," Toshiro Hitsugaya said icily, "that we will arrive soon! Now stop asking me that!" Rangiku frowned and crossed her arms under her bosom, she already hated traveling and nothing in the shinobi world looked different. She didn't understand why they had to leave the Senkaimon at the border of the Land of Fire rather than right at the village itself. "Do not worry, Rangiku-san," said a tall, dark haired man with a tattoo of the number 69 on his left cheek, "We will be there soon." Rangiku proceeded to pout even more, "But Shuhei-kun, I'm tired!" she proceeded to lift her bosom, "and my boobs are so-!"

"Matsumoto!"

Hitsugaya wheeled around and scowled at his lieutenant; they were scheduled to reach the Konoha in about a half hour, but he wasn't so sure that that his patience would last any longer. He didn't even want to be sent out on this peace trip, but it was a unanimous decision by the rest of the captains. They said that he needs more experience as a captain, even though he's held his position for nearly twenty-five years. And instead of sending him somewhere where it was nice and cold, they sent him to this hot, tropical forest place where the mosquitos were making dinner out of him! "If you had time to complain, you would see that," he pointed up ahead, "the Konoha is right here!" Rangiku's eyes widened in delight and she threw her bags and Shuhei, "Whoo hoo! I'm going to buy a big bottle of sake!" She rushed ahead of the group with flash steps and ran through the gate.

"Hey lady! We need your ID before we can let you into the village!"

Rangiku stopped in her tracks and whirled around to see Izumo and Kotetsu rushing towards her. _"ID?"_ she thought confusingly to herself, _"Hmm, don't have that yet, might as well wing it!" _She put on her best pouty face and stuck out her chest slighty, "Oh no, I forgot it at home," she said sultry, "but maybe you can let it slide, just once?" The gate guards started to blush profusely and struggled to keep their self-control. It was hard enough not to drool over Tsunade, but this woman was even better looking that her! Kotetsu gulped, "U-uh miss? W-what is your name?" Rangiku winked at the men and started to slowly twirl around on her toes, "Rangiku Matsumoto, the vivacious vixen!" Before the men could ogle anymore, Hitsugaya and Shuhei arrived. "You idiot!" Toshiro exclaimed as he rushed up to her, "You can't just run into foreign territory like that!" Rangiku pursed her lips and turned her back to her captain, attempting to ignore him and still capture the attention of the two shinobi. She had heard that shinobi men were a bit more fearless than Shinigami men, but she would be the judge of that. And besides, this was like a little vacation! "Hey kid," Izumo scowled at Hitsugaya as he approached the pair, "mind your manners! She's a grown woman!" Rangiku smirked as she saw her captain turn red from anger. It wasn't every day that she could see Toshiro get chewed out for something, rather than the other way around. She knew that Hitsugaya would have no trouble with letting the guards know who he is and what he would do to them after they found out. Toshiro narrowed his brilliantly green eyes and crossed his arms over his chest, "I'll have you know that I was personally requested for an audience by Hokage-sama herself!" he said icily as he went to adjust Hyorinmaru that was on his back. Even if he didn't show it, he enjoyed letting the incompetent know the error of their ways. Izumo froze and hurriedly started to flip through the clipboard he had in his hand. As soon as he read the report that Tsunade sent him, he looked up in fear. "Y-you're Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya?" he trembled. Hitsugaya nodded and gestured to Rangiku, "Yes, and this incompetent woman is Rangiku Matsumoto, my lieutenant," he turned to Hisagi, "And this is our bodyguard, Shuhei Hisagi, a lieutenant as well." Hisagi nodded at the gate guards and chuckled good-naturedly, "I apologize for this, and I can assure you that this won't happen again." Before the gate guards could apologize, a voice rang out.

"Welcome everyone!"

Yoruichi greeted the Shinigami and approached them, Naruto trudging behind her. "I'm glad to see you all arrive in one piece!" she said good-naturedly. She looked to her right and saw Naruto dozing in and out of sleep and bopped him on the head. "Wha-?!" he mumbled, "Oh, my name's Naruto Uzumaki," he said as he extended a hand to Hitsugaya. The white-haired captain cast a calculating look at the shinobi boy as he shook his hand. He reminded him of Ichigo, in a way. Toshiro nodded, "Hmm, pleased to meet you, Uzumaki-san." Rangiku stood back for a few moments, letting her gaze take in Naruto's appearance. The boy was wearing a black tank top and camouflage pants; he also had two orange bands on each wrist. His bright, spiky hair wasn't in a ponytail so it flowed freely down his back. His eyes were as blue as the ocean and she couldn't wait to speak to him. She sauntered up to the boy and struck a pose, "Hello there, Naruto-kun," she purred at him, "I'm Rangiku," she winked at him and hugged his arm. Hisagi nodded at Naruto and chuckled at the boy who was struggling to wrench himself from Rangiku's grasp. He himself wished he was in that situation, but hey; just take life as it comes your way.

Tsunade eventually arrived at the gate with Sakura and Shizune following her. She waved at Naruto and Yoruichi, but stopped short when she saw a white haired kid, a prostitute, and a fine, young, dark haired piece of ass just waiting to be snatched. "I wonder what that 69 on that man's face is for?" Sakura murmured to Shizune in curiosity. Tsunade giggled, her amber eyes gleaming mischievously, "I can name a few reasons," she purred as she stumbled over to Hisagi. She was obviously intoxicated from her morning dose of sake; she was adamant in her claim that it helped her concentrate. "Why hello there, Captain Hitsugaya," Tsunade purred seductively at Shuhei, "welcome to Konoha, where the rivers are wide," she struck a sexy pose, "and my assets wider!" The rest of the group sweat-dropped at the sight of Tsunade attempting to seduce Hisagi and Yoruichi sighed.

"The thirst is strong in this woman," she said ruefully.

* * *

**I find it weird how there are so many subscriptions to this story and barely any reviews! Reviews help me write better! Thanks for reading!**


	7. Chapter 7

Sakura glared daggers at the mysterious orange haired woman who seemed keen on trying to get Naruto to grope her as much as possible. Were all Shinigami women so desperate for attention? Plus, this woman was a walking bombshell; tall, long orange hair, perfect figure, and breasts much larger than Tsunade's! She glanced at the woman's outfit; a cute yellow summer dress with a thick brown belt over it. She also had a sword just like Naruto's that was stuck underneath her belt. "Excuse me," she said icily to Rangiku, "who are you and what are you doing to Naruto?!" Rangiku stopped running her fingers through Naruto's hair and looked at the girl who was calling out to her. _"Pink hair, no breasts, and an ass flatter than a pancake," _she thought to herself. Rangiku was no stranger to criticism from other women, it was like everything she did was worthy of a whole new string of gossip. She embraced it however; it just meant that she was capable of doing something much better than anyone else. "Well, my name's Rangiku Matsumoto and I was just," she started to caress Naruto's whisker birthmarks, "getting acquainted with Naruto-kun, is there a problem?" she asked sweetly. Naruto watched the exchange with a worried look to his face, he knew from Yoruichi's stories that Rangiku would flirt with anything not in a skirt. Jiraiya had told him countless time that women were easy to manipulate if he just played his cards right; but naturally, he meant that in a much mature way. Aside from her flirtatiousness, he found her quite interesting. "Rangiku-chan?" he said to her, "maybe we could get to know each other later? We still have a lot of stuff to do." Rangiku blinked slowly as her jaw dropped slightly, she was at a loss for words. The average man would be mere putty at the sight of her flirting with him, but this boy resisted her charms. _"Hmm,"_ she thought to herself as she felt a blush start to spring up on her cheeks, _"what a man!"_ Sakura was momentarily side tracked by Rangiku's distant stare and turned to Toshiro, who was attempting to sneak away from the scene. "Aw," she cooed at him as she rustled his hair, "who are you, little cutie?" Rangiku snickered to herself; this girl had done it now.

A massive tick mark appeared on Toshiro's forehead as he wheeled around and started to shout at Sakura. "I am not a 'little cutie'! I am Toshiro Hitsugaya, Captain of Squad 10!" Toshiro was tired of being called a kid, he had waited decades but his growth spurt never came. No matter how many hours a day he slept, or how much fruit and vegetables he ate, he wouldn't grow. The only thing that helped him maintain some degree of authority was his Zanpakuto and his captain's haori. He even tried to dress like an adult too; a black button down shirt and khaki slacks, but that didn't work either. "I-I thought he was Captain Hitsugaya?" Sakura asked shakily as she gestured to Hisagi, who was currently being strangle-hugged by Tsunade. Hitsugaya scoffed at Hisagi's situation and turned around, "That is Shuhei Hisagi, Lieutenant of Squad 9, now will you please regain control of the Hokage!" Sakura nodded glumly at the white haired boy and got to work with controlling Tsunade.

* * *

An hour later, everyone was settled and ready in Tsunade's office. Even though she didn't show it, Tsunade was very much embarrassed about the 'Hisagi ordeal'. Maybe she would finally cut back on sake, at least in the mornings. She still couldn't believe Toshiro could command a whole sect of an army at such a young age, it was remarkable. She was suspicious of Rangiku; however, she would definitely have to ask her about what she uses for her hair. And of course, Shuhei; what a man! Tsunade always loved battle scars on a man, and Hisagi was no exception. Shuhei had on a white muscle shirt with dark blue jeans, and it did him justice! But, Jiraiya was still in the back of her mind. She longed to see him for three years, and now she had a chance to catch up with him. Tsunade was so busy reminiscing that she didn't notice Toshiro calling out to her.

"Lady Hokage?"

Tsunade jumped at the sound of her name being called and cleared her throat, "Oh yes, so, do you have any documents from the Soul Society that I need to examine?" Hitsugaya nodded and handed her a manila folder, "This is from our leader, Captain-Commander Yamamoto." Tsunade opened the folder and started to read it to herself.

_Greetings Lady Hokage,_

_By time you read this letter, the boy named Naruto Uzumaki should have arrived back at your village. He is not the first human to gain possession of a Zanpakuto; the first human was Ichigo Kurosaki of Karakura Town. The Soul Society is at risk of destruction by an unknown force, and it was determined by a former captain of ours, Kisuke Urahara, that Uzumaki would be a fine successor to his Zanpakuto, Benihime. It is only natural that we train Uzumaki to master his Zanpakuto in all aspects, and that is why Yoruichi Shihoin is there to do so. We would like to commence peace talks with your village as soon as possible, we had suffered some losses over the years and the support of your village would be invaluable. Naturally, this is quite the request we ask of you, we are aware that the Shinobi Villages are not on the best terms as of late. In return, we will offer you support against any threats that may befall your village. We will also take to sending some of our Shinigami to the Konoha for patrols. Also, we would advise against informing the civilian population of our existence; this information should only be known by your shinobi, for now. _

_ Thank you._

_ Captain-Commander Yamamoto._

Tsunade looked up from the letter that Yamamoto sent her and nodded. It was obvious that the man was more than experienced at his job, and she had to admit, this treaty wasn't so bad. Before she could agree to this, however, she wanted to know exactly what the threat to the Soul Society was. "So what exactly is this threat your leader wrote about here?" she asked Hitsugaya. Toshiro cleared his throat and spoke, "That's the problem, we are not sure about who or what it is; that is why we request your help." Hitsugaya knew that this was an automatic deal breaker; no sensible leader would allow their shinobi to blindly rush into battle without having a clue what they're going up against. Tsunade sighed and folded her hands across her desk, "Then I'm sorry, but for now I can't allow any of my shinobi to be put at risk over something we don't know about," she said plainly. Hitsugaya nodded solemnly, "That's perfectly understandable, but we must remain here to oversee the rest of Uzumaki-san's training. He's far from finished." Tsunade's eyes widened slightly and she turned to Naruto and Yoruichi, "Is this true, you two?" Yoruichi stepped forward, "Yes, Tsunade-sama. Naruto hasn't completely mastered his Shikai, which means he isn't even close to mastering Bankai." Naruto grimaced and turned away in shame, getting Benihime to tell him her name was a challenge in and of itself, getting her to cooperate was a completely different story.

"There still is one more issue that hasn't been brought up yet," Hisagi interrupted.

Everyone turned to Hisagi, who cleared his throat and said, "Now that Uzumaki-san is considered a Shinigami, he also has Spirit Energy that will attract Hollows. They can, and will, attack this village." Tsunade wheeled around and turned to Hitsugaya, "What are these 'Hollows'?" Naruto held a hand up to interrupt Hitsugaya and addressed Tsunade instead, "They're the corrupted souls of dead people that weren't purified in time," he said quietly, "if not taken care of, they will kill anyone in their path." Everyone else besides the Shinigami gasped in fear, they never knew such a thing existed! And now the Konoha was at risk for attacks. "I need a bottle of sake," Tsunade mumbled to herself as she rubbed her seal mark. Rangiku's eyes lit up and she grabbed Tsunade in a tight hug.

"Yay! We can be twins!"

* * *

**I have so many assignments for my classes, I guess it looks like updates for this story will be on a weekends-only basis until I can get some free time during the week. But, thanks for keeping up so far! Don't worry, the real action will start soon.**


	8. Chapter 8

Tsunade glared at the monstrous mound of paperwork that now inhabited her desk. The last few weeks were overwhelming for her; she just found out that there was a secret society of soul reapers and that the jinchuriki of her village was training to be one. Second, the Shinigami wanted to stage an alliance with the village, which would not happen until she was sure she knew what she was agreeing to. She didn't notice the door open and Jiraiya walked in. "Hey, hime," he greeted as he sat down across from her. She nodded at him and rested her head against her hand. "How's it going?" The Hokage sighed and started to absentmindedly roll a pencil between her fingers, "Stressful. This Shinigami crap is getting to me now, I can't think of anything around this." The toad sage smiled warmly and took Tsunade's hand. He was mildly surprised that she didn't pull away or punch him, not that he was complaining. "Don't worry so much; as long as we have Yoruichi and the other Shinigami here, there isn't a big threat as of now. If there was, my spy network would've sent me word, and they haven't."

Tsunade sighed heavily and closed her eyes, "I guess you're right, I need to stop going crazy." She opened her eyes and looked into Jiraiya's deep, black ones. His eyes were so warm, so gentle; she could stare into them for hours. _"Why haven't I realized sooner how his eyes are so, inviting?" _she thought to herself. _"Come on, Tsunade, you're the Hokage for God's sake! A sannin! You can do this!" _She tightened her grip on Jiraiya's hand and started to speak, "Uh, how about we have some sake after I'm done here? You know, as friends and such," she tried to say casually, but the few beads of sweat on her forehead and the faint rouge on her cheeks were a dead giveaway. He smiled broadly, "Sure thing, hime!"

* * *

Naruto sighed as he walked through the village; Yoruichi was working him to the bone as of late. She had stopped training him in swordsmanship and started drilling him on flash steps. He was nowhere near as fast as her, naturally, and he was slightly slower as some high ranking officers in the Soul Society. But he was much faster than most of the people in the village and that was an accomplishment under his belt. Benihime was even loosening up a bit, but he couldn't speak to her long because she would start to blush and throw him out of their landscape. He felt his stomach growl and reached into his pocket for his wallet. "Might as well get some ramen before heading home." He didn't expect for Sakura to pop up out of nowhere and greet him. "Hey Naruto! Do you want to-uh- have some dinner with me?" Sakura felt a bit twitchy at the thought of asking him, but they hadn't been properly reacquainted since he came back, and this was a good time.

Naruto blanked out for a few moments, had Sakura just asked him out on a date? If he had been a few years younger, he would be bouncing off of the walls. But something was gnawing at him on the inside. _"Is this for real? Or is this some type of joke?"_ he thought to himself. "Yeah, I'd like that!" he said warmly as he offered his arm to Sakura, which she accepted. As they walked to Ichiraku's they could both see and hear the whispers directed at them.

"Is that that idiot Naruto with Sakura? Woah, what happened?"

"Damn! He got a donk!"

"You would think that Tsunade-sama would at least help the girl with her body…"

Eventually, the pair arrived at Ichiraku's and took a seat. Naruto turned and smiled at Sakura, "Pick what you like, Sakura-chan," he said cheerfully as he scanned the menu. Nothing had changed, of course, and he ordered eight bowls of miso ramen while Sakura ordered one bowl of salt ramen. After a few minutes of eating, Sakura spoke up.

"You've gotten really strong, Naruto. I almost couldn't believe it was you fighting Kakashi-sensei out there!"

Naruto smiled and rubbed the back of his head bashfully. "If it wasn't for Yoruichi-chan, I wouldn't have gotten so far. I owe it all to her!" Sakura felt her blood chill when she heard Yoruichi's name. She didn't trust the woman at all. She seems so, mysterious! And Sakura knew that under that cheerful demeanor was a very, very, powerful woman. Tsunade had told her that Yoruichi was the leader of her own army of assassins for nearly seventy years; Sakura hoped she wouldn't be on the wrong side of the battlefield with her. She hated how everyone seemed so relaxed around the Shinigami when no one knew what was happening! "Oh, you must really like her then," the pinkette said nonchalantly, even though it sounded more like a question. "Of course! She's awesome!" Naruto exclaimed proudly, oblivious to Sakura's discomfort. The kunoichi started to tap her chopsticks on her bowl, "Well, Tsunade-sama taught me how to use her super-strength, I'm not on her level yet though." Naruto gulped slightly, the thought of two angry women with super strength was frightening. No, actually two women with super strength, and one woman with monstrous strength, counting Yoruichi. "Heh, it's weird isn't it? Each of us has been trained by a Sannin! I trained with Ero-sennin, you trained with Tsunade baa-chan!"

"_And Sasuke trained with Orochimaru….." _

Naruto sighed wistfully and was about to speak up again when they heard a deafening crash. They stood up quickly and left the money at the table as the rushed to the scene. "W-what's going on? That crash was huge!" Sakura exclaimed as they dashed through the village. They could hear screams behind them, which means that whatever is making that noise is targeting the village. Naruto's eyes narrowed and a bit of spirit energy flowed out of him. "It's a hollow," he said seriously. "When we get there, stand back. Don't fight it no matter what happens." Sakura cringed at Naruto's sudden seriousness and nodded. Secretly, she was wanted to fight one of the hollows, if it was such a big deal to the Shinigami, she might as well show them that she was worth something.

"_I'm going to prove myself to everyone!"_

* * *

"Idiot, don't think you're getting lucky!"

Tsunade slammed a hand down firmly on the table she shared with Jiraiya at the bar. The poor fool thought he was getting some tonight, ha! Like she was some pushover! Jiraiya pouted and crossed his arms, "Aww, Tsunade-hime! Don't be such a stick in the mud! You asked _me _out anyways!" The Hokage blushed and covered her cheeks with her folded hands. It was merely a get together, nothing more, nothing less. She took a sip of her sake, "It's been nearly a week since you and Naruto have gotten back and I haven't had a real conversation with you in three years!" she exclaimed defensively as the spark in her eyes returned. Jiraiya smirked amusingly at Tsunade and leaned back in his chair, looking at her. "W-what the hell are you staring at?" she as scooted her chair back slightly, "I'm not a piece of meat!" Jiraiya was just about to comment how beautiful she looked tonight when they heard a deafening crash and screams. Tsunade whirled around and looked out of the window, "It's by the training field!" she said as she rushed to the door, Jiraiya on her heels. "No! Stay in this area in case anything comes this way!" she yelled to him. She rushed high-speed to the field.

"_Damn it! Of all times to happen!"_

* * *

Naruto bobbed and weaved throughout the onslaught of hollows. Thankfully, they were all normal hollows and not menos or higher. He had forgotten Benihime at home, so he had to use kido and hakuda. "Agh!" he exclaimed as a hollow's claw grazed him. He promptly killed the hollow and looked back at where he left Sakura.

Except she wasn't there anymore.

"Sakura!" he screamed, looking around desperately for his teammate. BOOM! Sakura had punched away a lizard like hollow, its mask had cracked and it dissolved. "What did I tell you about staying out of this?!" he exclaimed at her as he killed another one, "It's too dangerous!" Sakura kicked another hollow and turned back to Naruto, "No! I'm tired to being useless! I'm helping you no matter what!" Naruto growled, even if he did appreciate Sakura's help, now he would have to not only look out for himself, but Sakura too! Plus, she knew next to nothing about hollows, so that made things even more complicated. Sakura was so busy explaining to Naruto about how she wanted to help him she didn't notice a large hollow appear behind her. "Damn it!" Naruto explained as he Shunpo over to her to try to block the strike.

CRASH!

Tsunade axe-kicked the large hollow away and landed next to Naruto and Sakura with a thud. "Agh!" she exclaimed as she gripped her leg, "Those things are hard as steel!" Tsunade had fought her share of creatures, but this is something she had never seen before. The hollows had on these strange masks and were all sorts of shapes and sizes! There were three more hollows left to kill, and after that was over with, she was signing the peace treaty. There was no way in hell she was going to let those 'things' attack her village on a regular basis! "There's three more!" she exclaimed as the trio dodged the swipe of one. Naruto held out both of his hands mid-air and started to chant.

_Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march on to the south!" Hado #31: Sha-_

"Growl, Haineko!"

"Reap, Kazeshini!"

A large dust cloud and a scythe swooped in out of nowhere and destroyed to remaining hollows with a crash that left a large crater in the middle of the field. Rangiku and Hisagi landed next to the shinobi. "Whooo!" Rangiku exclaimed as she flipped her hair over her shoulder, "that would've been messy if we hadn't got here!" Naruto sighed in relief and sat down on the ground, panting. "I was in mid-chant, you know," he said, disappointed. He was wasted a fair share of spirit energy fighting the hollows. "Ugh," he groaned as he held his head. He could feel a weird energy churning inside of him, almost like the Kyubi's chakra, but much, much different. "Gaki? Are you okay? What-?" Tsunade started to ask the blond boy, but he passed out.

"_**DO YOU WANT POWER?! DO YOU WANT TO CRUSH YOUR ENEMIES?"**_

Naruto's eyes shot open and he looked around hurriedly to find out that he was in his landscape. "Kyubi? Benihime? Where are you?" he called out. No answer from any of them. "What's going on?" He started to run around his landscape, searching for a way out. _**"YOUR DEMON AND ZANPAKUTO AREN'T HERE, IT'S JUST YOU AND I!"**_

Naruto spun around to see who was speaking to him and gasped. It was looking at himself! His look-a-like had white hair, white skin, white clothes and black eyes, however. "What are you? Is this a genjutsu!" Naruto demanded from his clone. The look-a-like laughed maniacally, _**"NO, BAKA! I'M YOUR INNER HOLLOW!" **_Naruto's eyes narrowed, Yoruichi had told him that her last student had this problem as well, he had an inner hollow that would manifest whenever he was getting beat or lost confidence in himself. She said that it had something to do with the unbalance of spiritual energy, but Urahara hadn't been able to research more of it before he died. "If what you're saying is true, then I'm gonna have to get rid of you now!" he rushed the hollow, but the spirit dodged him easily. _**"HAHA! FORGET IT! YOU'RE TOO WEAK! YOU'RE NEVER GONNA BRING SASUKE BACK!" **_the hollow taunted as he waved a hand. Suddenly Kyubi and Benihime appeared wrapped in a seal, _**"I'M GONNA UNSEAL THESE GUYS AGAIN, YOU'RE TOO WORTHLESS WITHOUT THEM! I WANT YOU TO BE STRONG WHEN IS STEAL YOUR BODY!"**_ Before Naruto could try to attack again, he was enveloped in a bright light. _**"NOW GET OUT OF HERE! COME BACK WHEN YOUR WORTHY!'**_

* * *

Yoruichi rushed to the battlefield and arrived right after Naruto collapsed. She landed next to him and cradled him in her arms. She could feel his spirit energy fluctuating rapidly. "What happened here?" she demanded from the group. She had heard the hollow attack and saw that everyone had taken care of them, but Naruto was out for the count. "He collapsed after we got rid of the hollows," Tsunade said gravely, "I thinks it's chakra exhaustion." Hisagi shook his head, "No, his chakra is fine, his spirit energy is going crazy, however." Yoruichi put a hand to his forehead and was about to use a healing kido when something unexpected happened.

A hollow mask appeared on his face.

The mask was in the shape of a fox, it was white and had red and orange designs on his. There were orange circles around the eyes, and red whisker marks on the cheeks, and his teeth had extended to inhuman lengths. "Shit!" Yoruichi exclaimed, "He's hollowfing!" Before she could tell everyone to run away, the mask broke and fell apart. "Y-Yoruichi," Rangiku said shakily, "he's just like Ichi-kun!" Yoruichi lifted the unconscious Naruto over her shoulder and stood up, turning to the rest of the group.

"We're going to need back up here, lots of it."

* * *

**It's been nearly a month since I've updated this story! I wasn't really feeling this chapter, it's not what I know I'm capable of producing. But thanks for reading!**


	9. Chapter 9

"_Why? Why does everything have to end up so bad?"_

She sat stiffly in a chair next to him, keeping a constant beside vigil until he would wake up. It had been three days since the hollow attack, three days since they had discovered Naruto's hollow powers. Yoruichi remembered how Ichigo transformed when he fought against Byakuya in the Soul Society, and concerned her almost constantly. At any moment of weakness, Naruto's inner hollow would start to manifest. She knew she could waste any more time, she had to either find a way to seal the hollow, or get him to master its powers. She had placed a Bakudo spell around her and his bed in case of any other threats. Yoruichi ran a hand softly through Naruto's long blond hair and sighed, "It seems I never keep my students out of harm's way," she said sadly. She started to lean forward to place a kiss on his forehead, "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you, Naruto-kun." Before she could complete the kiss, there was a light knock on the door and a female voice called out. "Yoruichi-san? It's me, Tsunade, can I come in?" The cat woman took a moment to gather her bearing and calm her heart beat, "D-did I just try to kiss Naruto?" she asked herself in a whisper. She had this strange feeling in her belly and her heart pounded in her chest, she had never felt this way before. As a princess, she wasn't expected to be like other women, she was trained to be the ideal royal. The only thing that saved her childhood was those afternoons she would spend playing with around the Soul Society with Kisuke.

_Kisuke…_

She gritted her teeth in frustration as she tried to purge the thought of her eternal friend out of her mind. There was no time for her to mourn, she had a promise to keep and she couldn't think of herself at the moment. "Yeah, you can come in," she said shakily. Tsunade opened the door and entered the room with Jiraiya. Yoruichi removed the barrier and stood up, "His spirit energy is almost back to normal, yet I still feel some traces of hollow energy in him." Tsunade eyed the unconscious teenager; he looked slightly pale and withdrawn. The Akatsuki were on the hunt for jinchuriki and who knew if these new powers of Naruto would make them pursue him more? "Is there anything you can think of that'll bring control over his hollow?" she asked Yoruichi. The princess sat back down and sighed deeply as she rubbed her temples. "There's only two ways, we can either forcibly remove his Shinigami powers, which has the risk of killing him, or we can get someone I know who will teach him how to use his powers." Jiraiya's eyes narrowed as he listened to Yoruichi's choices, he thought that the Ichigo kid was the only other human to have the powers, and she said that he couldn't access them anymore. "So are you saying there are more humans with hollow powers?" he asked. Yoruichi looked once more to Naruto and rubbed her hand against his absentmindedly, "There are more people with hollow powers, eight of them to be exact. They just happen to be Shinigami, but they call themselves 'Visoreds'." Yoruichi didn't know how she would be able to get one of them to come and help another human, but it was worth a shot. As skillful of a Shinigami she was, there was only so much she could do for him, she just had to assure herself that they are people who can help him. She thought back to a time when they were away training.

* * *

**Flashback**

"Aw! Can't we take a break now?"

Yoruichi flopped down on the grass as she loosened her orange top, Naruto had insane stamina and she was exhausted. She loosened her hair tie and fanned herself lazily, "It's way too hot now, Naruto, just take a break." Naruto sheathed Benihime into its scabbard, "That's the fourth break today, Yoruichi!" he exclaimed as he sat beside her. They were working on Naruto's shunpo while using a Zanpakuto. Even though she was barely using any of her speed, he kept her on her toes. "I'm not a monster, I don't have infinite energy!" she exclaimed as laid on her back. Naruto had to resist the urge to stare at the purple haired women; she had a figure that most women would pay thousands to get for themselves!" Yoruichi noticed Naruto's obvious discomfort and smirked, she had yet to meet a human man who couldn't resist her. But then again, who would want to? The blond had turned into quiet the hunk as well, before her training, Naruto had a decent amount of muscle, but he was lean. But now, he was ripped; toned, defined abs; chiseled chest, strong arms, he was a walking GQ model. She felt an odd heat crawl up her neck and eased herself up, "I'm going to the lake to," she turned her head, "wash up," she purred as she walked achingly slow. Naruto turned away quickly and stuttered, "Uh yeah, okay!" The cat woman sighed humorously; the kid couldn't take a sign even if it was right in front of him, "Would you like to join?" Naruto immediately blush and backed away quickly, "Wha-? No way?" he stammered. Yoruichi froze momentarily, she hadn't expected him to resist so easily. It's not like she was seriously trying to seduce him, but she didn't realize how resistant he can be. "Oh, so you aren't interested in any of this firm, young, skin?" she queried with a smirk. Naruto sighed and looked into her golden eyes, "It's not that, it's just that…"

….a women like you deserves better respect than that."

She could feel a faint blush appear on her cheeks as she absorbed his kind words. No one has ever said anything like that to her, except for Kisuke. She laughed lightly, "Thanks for the complement," she said lightly as she smiled at him, "I'll be back in a while!" She Shunpo-ed off towards the lake and sat down on a rock. Her heart was pounding like crazy and her cheeks felt hot. "What is this?" she murmured to herself as she put a hand to her chest, "why do I feel so, weird?"

**Flashback End**

* * *

She continued to stroke his hand lightly as she stared at him, he looked so weak and innocent now. _"Come on, Naruto, wake up! I know you can do it!" _she thought. She felt a faint stir coming from his hand and he started to slowly open his eyes. "Y-yoru-ch-an?" he murmured as he stirred around. He didn't remember anything except passing out, and he realized he couldn't speak with Benihime or Kyubi either! "W-what happened to me?" he asked as he rubbed the side of his head. She gave him a sad smile, "Well, we found out that you have Hollow powers, so we were thinking of a way to get you to learn how to control them." Naruto's eyes widened as he sat up abruptly, "What? I-I'm a hollow?" Yoruichi gently eased him back into bed as she spoke, "No, you just have a hollow's powers. Don't worry, you're not the only one. There are nine other people like you in the world." Naruto's eyes brightened in anticipation, "So are they gonna come and help me?" Yoruichi didn't answer and walked over to window and stared outside

"_How am I going to break it to him?"_

"We won't know for now, we're still awaiting word from the Soul Society," Tsunade said briskly, sensing Yoruichi's hesitation. Naruto nodded slowly and leaned back, "Oh, alright, I guess I'll just take it easy for a few days." Jiraiya nodded good-naturedly as he smiled at his student, "Yeah, you'll be as good as new in no time!" He too sensed Yoruichi's nervousness; a gut feeling was telling him that there was more to what the flash goddess was letting on. A half an hour later, Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Yoruichi were strolling down the hospital hallway. The cat woman was keeping a brisk pace in front of the other two, seemingly trying to avoid any questions. Jiraiya turned to Tsunade and mouthed, _"You think she's hiding something?" _Tsunade briefly nodded her head, she knew that there was no way that those Visored people will be here in time to help make any improvements in Naruto's hollow dilemma. Jiraiya quickly set up a silencing seal in the hallway and Tsunade called out to Yoruichi.

"We know you're hiding something, Yoruichi-san."

The Shihoin princess stopped in her tracks, the two Sannin were better than she thought. To see through her carefully thought out lie was astonishing. The communication between those two were flawless. Turning on her heels to face the pair, she gave them a confused look. "What is this all of a sudden? I'm not hiding a thing!" she said jovially, attempting to alleviate the pressure in the hallway. Tsunade took a step forward and glared at Yoruichi, "I know you care a lot about Naruto, but keeping things from us doesn't benefit anyone. If you hide anything else serious from us, I'll remove you from the village by force." The hokage was all business now, anything or anyone who threatened the village had to be eliminated quickly and quietly. "Tsunade-hime," Jiraiya said seriously as he stepped forward, "Don't even try it." The blonde woman never broke here stare down with Yoruichi, who reciprocated with a grin. "And why not?" she questioned the toad sage. Jiraiya leaned against a wall and smirked.

"I'm not exaggerating when I'm saying this, but Yoruichi-san would, and can kill your grandfather in seconds, even in his prime."

Yoruichi threw her head back and laughed loudly, "Oh Jiraiya, you complement me too much! But he's right, Tsunade-sama, I'm much, much more powerful than you, but that doesn't mean that I have any other motives besides training Naruto," she crossed her arms, "there's no way that I can train Naruto to be a Visored, and I've tried my best to come up with a solution." Tsunade scowled and turned away, who was she to make up threats? She knew from legends that a single Shinigami could destroy an entire continent with a mere percentage of their strength! "He is still a ninja of the Konohagakure, so anything having to do with his development has to be run by me, got it?" Yoruichi smiled and saluted the pair, "Absolutely!" she exclaimed as she shunpoed from the hospital.

Jiraiya grinned comically at Tsunade as he hopped around, "Aw! And to think you came so close to apologizing!" he said dramatically as fake tears dripped down his face. Tsunade slumped against the wall and slid to the floor, "Bullshit," she murmured, "All this bullshit going on and I can barely have a say in it!" Jiraiya laid a hand on her shoulder, "Worrying about it won't change anything, so how about we get something to eat?" he asked hopefully. Tsunade stood up and smirked at the toad sage, her amber eyes gleaming, "You're paying, Jiraiya-baka."

* * *

"Eh? Whaddaya want now?"

Yoruichi sighed heavily as she rubbed the ear that was just shouted into. She was on top of Hokage Mountain on her spirit phone, speaking to the person who could potentially save Naruto's life; Shinji Hirako. "I have another human for you to train, Shinji! I've said it twice already!" she yelled back. Shinji sat at his desk in the fifth division office and rubbed his eyes wearily. Training Ichigo was already a struggle in and of itself, but training a shinobi kid was almost insane! "Kisuke still makes my life more difficult even when he's six feet under!" he sighs. He notices that the other line is silent and called out, "Yoruichi? You still there?"

"Don't you dare say anything bad about Kisuke."

The blond haired captain flinched at the tone of Yoruichi's voice. The woman was known to be jovial even during the most serious of situations, but her seriousness wasn't to be taken lightly. Especially when she's genuinely mad. "Ah, my mistake. Won't happen again," he said hurriedly to avoid any future conflict. "I'll ask Yama-jiji if I can come to the human world, but don't expect me there soon." Yoruichi sighed, "Alright, fine. Just let me know when you're coming."

She hung up the phone and watched the sun sink on the horizon. It was rare that she had moments to herself like these. For the last century she was constantly on her toes, ready to annihilate any threat to her. There weren't any physical threats to her now, but an internal one. She put a hand to her heart as she gazed into the sky. _"I loved Kisuke, I know that, but was it real love? Or was it just a bond? Why do I keep feeling this way? Naruto's like a son to me, that's it, maternal feelings. Got it."_ She leaned back on the mountain and closed her eyes.

"Don't worry, Kisuke. Nothing bad will ever happen to Naruto."

* * *

**Yoruichi's battling some internal feelings now! The Kazekage Arc will be starting soon, but don't expect a full detailed arc. It'll just have the main battles. Thanks for reading!**


	10. Chapter 10

"What? They kidnapped him?"

Naruto could feel his heart drop as Tsunade half-heartedly explained the situation of the Akatsuki kidnapping Gaara to get the One-Tailed Beast. His fists clenched in aggravation, and he wanted to shout out his frustration to whoever would hear, but Yoruichi put a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Just listen for a bit, Naruto," she said softly. He nodded immediately and turned back to Tsunade, who had noticed the chemistry between the two. _"Those two are closer than I had thought before,"_ she thought absentmindedly. Clearing her throat, she picked up the mission report. "I'll get right to the chase; Team Kakashi, plus Yoruichi, will travel to the Sunagakure and aid those who are searching for the Kazekage," she looked pointedly at Kakashi. "Anyone who tries to compromise the mission must be eliminated, understood?"

"Hai!

"Alright, Team Kakashi, good luck."

* * *

Yoruichi sighed heavily as she packed a backpack of supplies for the trip. In all honestly, she wasn't expecting to be sent out on missions like this, but Naruto's inner hollow was still at risk of being set loose. She was vaguely aware of who the Akatsuki was, she knew that they were S-class missing-nin who are hired mercenaries that plan taking each of the nine tailed beasts. Naruto had mentioned one of them being the brother of one of his past teammates, who is also a missing-nin. She pulled aside the collar of her shirt and glanced down at her chest and saw that her limiter was still in place. "Yoruichi-san? Come on! We need to get going! Gaara's in huge danger!" Naruto exclaimed as he was pacing around as he tucked Benihime through his belt. Yoruichi grunted as she stood up, "Alright, I'm ready. But before we leave, I need to go over some ground rules." Naruto nodded curiously as he sat down on the couch and Yoruichi sat down beside him. "Let's see," she murmured, "you may not like this, but I'd advise you not to use any of your Shinigami abilities unless you're in grave danger. The most you can use is the sealed form of Benihime and your flash steps." Naruto scoffed and crossed his arms stubbornly, "It doesn't matter what I use; anything that will cause the most trouble for the Akatsuki is fine enough." She chuckled loudly and playfully socked him on the arm. "Just be careful out there, we may get separated out there," she put a hand on his cheek, "I don't want you to die out there." Naruto's ocean blue eyes flashed playfully as he smiled at his female mentor. He also laid his firm hand on top of hers that was on his cheek. "Don't worry so much, Yoruichi. I'm not going to die before I become Hokage!" he shouted out loudly. She chuckled wistfully for a few moments before removing her hand, and after a few moments of pondering her next decision, she spoke up. "Hey, Naruto?" she said shakily as she moved forward.

"_I can't believe I'm doing this…"_

"What is it, Yoruichi? Just hold on a second, I'm putting on my shoes," he said as he was strapping them on.

"_This will cheer him up__," _she thought to herself as she slowly puckered up her lips. Her plan was to kiss him on the cheek, just a simple peck. Nothing that will give either of them the wrong idea.

"Alright, so what did you wa-?" Naruto tried to ask, but his mouth was soon enveloped by her soft one. Their eyes widened in surprise as the kiss continued on for a few moments before hastily parting. Yoruichi immediately jumped up, her mouth falling open in horror as it finally hit her. She had kissed her student, Kisuke's legacy! Trying to play it off, she laughed heartily, "Whoa! I was off, wasn't I?" she chortled as she regained her composure. She continued to chuckle for a few more moments before she noticed that Naruto hadn't said anything. He was staring intently into Yoruichi's golden orbs of eyes as she slowly felt something inside of her start to pulsate with every passing second. "Naruto?" Yoruichi spluttered out weakly as she tried to snap him out of it. "I was only trying to kiss your cheek, nothing else." He ran a hand through his spiky hair and chuckled, "I-I wasn't paying attention, sorry," he said nervously.

She could feel her cheeks heat up at Naruto grinned dumbly at her. Why was she still getting this odd tingly feeling inside of her? Naruto was just like a son to her, they had bonded greatly during the six months they had spent in the wilderness. Now wasn't the time to wonder why she was feeling this way. "Oh, was this your first kiss with a fine, strong, woman such as myself? Is there another lady out there?" she asked playfully as they headed out of the door. Naruto sighed wistfully and nodded his head. "Yeah, there is. But she loves another, and I've accepted that, but I still feel like I have a chance!"

"It's that Sakura girl, is it?"

"Well…

* * *

"So we're not going to that icky Sand Village, right?"

"No, we're not going unless-"

"Yay~!"

"Not unless they need backup, idiot!"

Rangiku groaned as she flopped back on the mattress in the apartment building that she, Toshiro, and Shuhei were sharing for now. She had hoped that they would have a comfortable stay in the village and have little to do but relax and wait to be recalled back to the Soul Society. But now that a village leader has been kidnapped, their stay has been extended. Kicking her feet up in the air, she turned back to her captain, "That's almost guaranteed captain! They're going up against terrorists!" she exclaimed. Hitsugaya sighed heavily as she sheathed Hyorinmaru, who he had been speaking with before. He shot her a reproachful look and lay back on the couch. "The Hokage told us that if they needed backup, we were to help them. But obviously we are not to get too involved in this."

"Why not?"

He scoffed impassively and stretched out, "It has nothing to do with us, she hasn't signed the treaty," he turned on his side and yawned. "If there is any threat to Shihoin-san of Uzumaki-san, we'll head out. We are not involved in Shinobi affairs." Rangiku frowned and eyed her captain suspiciously. Even if his explanation gave her less work, it still wasn't right to leave their new Shinobi friends vulnerable to any attacks. These Akatsuki sound extremely dangerous, who knows what they will do? "I guess you have a point," she said warily, "we don't want to make enemies from the Shinobi enemies." Hitsugaya smirked and turned back around.

"Exactly my point."

"So we stay put unless Yoruichi or Naruto gets into trouble."

"Precisely, but knowing Shihoin-san, nothing serious will happen."

* * *

"So, are we all here?"

Kakashi's exposed eye scanned his team in front of him as they prepared to leave for the Sand Village. Sakura adjusted her gloves and nodded, "Yes, Kakashi-sensei." He nodded to her and turned to Yoruichi and Naruto, who looked slightly apprehensive. Naruto kept sneaking glances at the woman and hastily turning away from her, while she herself was trying to prevent herself from meeting his glance back. Sakura noticed the tension and frowned, "Hey, are you two alright?" she asked. Naruto nodded profusely, "Yes, Sakura-san!" he exclaimed. Yoruichi merely nodded slowly, still staring at the ground. Kakashi closed the novel he was reading and spoke up. "We need to start now; it will take three days to get there." Yoruichi shook her head, "No, it's going to take less than a day," she said quietly. She took out two odd looking bracelets from her pocket and gave Kakashi and Sakura both one. "Both of you on your own wouldn't be able to keep up with me and Naruto, so these will allow you two to keep up by speeding up your regular running speed." Kakashi slipped his on wrist and nods appreciatively at the flash goddess, while Sakura hesitates, but eventually slips hers on. Yoruichi smiles and says;

"Alright, let's clear out."

* * *

After about three hours of traveling, Naruto and Yoruichi decided to stop for a break for the sake of the others. Naruto opened his canteen, took a swig, and spoke, "We have about two more hours until we get there." He put a hand over Yoruichi's hand to get her attention, because she was spacing out. "Huh?" she said quickly, "oh, yes, we're nearly there." Naruto frowned slightly and leaned closer to her and whispered in her ear, "If it's about this morning, don't worry about it. I know you didn't mean it." The cat woman chuckled loudly and playfully slapped Naruto on the arm, "Duh! It's was just an accident!" she exclaimed loudly.

_You didn't mean it. It was just an accident._

Kakashi watched the duo converse casually as he sharpened a dull kunai. Shifting his gaze to his right, he sees Sakura staring intently at Naruto as he leaned over and whispered something softly into Yoruichi's ear, to which she started to laugh loudly about. Even with his keen hearing, he only picked up certain parts; he heard something about Yoruichi not meaning anything and some sort of accident that happened this morning. He noticed Sakura's eyes narrow as she saw the princess slap Naruto on the arm. He smirked under his mask and continued his work while murmuring;

"You aren't jealous, are you?"

Sakura jumped slightly at the sound of Kakashi's voice and hastily shook her head. "No, of course not!" she whispered frantically. "I just don't trust her, that's all." She paused and glanced back at Yoruichi, who was burning a strange shape into the ground with some beam that was coming from her finger. She had every right to be suspicious, this mysterious woman out of nowhere comes and sweeps her remaining teammate away; and suddenly joins their team! Nothing was making sense anymore. "Look, I understand where you're coming from," Kakashi says gently as he turns to her. Sakura smiled triumphantly as she threw another suspicious glance at Yoruichi; at least someone was on her side now. She took a big gulp of water and started to stand up.

"You want to confess your undying love to Yoruichi, and Naruto is in your way!"

"WHAT THE HELL?!"

She spat out her drink and glared angrily at Kakashi, who was smiling widely through his mask, even if no one could see it. Naruto and Yoruichi obviously heard Kakashi's odd conclusion and had mix reactions. Naruto scrambled to his feet and looked back and forth from Yoruichi to Sakura. "Eh?" he shouted loudly, "You have a crush on Yoruichi-chan?" Sakura turned beet red and attempted to explain what she was trying to say but Yoruichi interrupted her. "We're on a mission, let's go," she said quietly as she disappeared. Naruto was first to speed right after her, but he sensed that something was wrong. She would be first to say something snarky to Sakura after that little incident, but she didn't even glance at anyone as she sped away.

"_Was it something I said?"_

* * *

After another two hours of travel, the team eventually made it to Sunagakure. The village was in the middle of the desert, obviously, and was surrounded by circular-like buildings. All in all, it wasn't as impressive as Konohagakure. Yoruichi rubbed the stray sand that blew into her eyes and sneezed, "Holy hell, it's like a damned litter box here," she murmured. Sakura shot a reproachful glance over her shoulder but kept silent; she had no doubt that Yoruichi kept a few inappropriate comebacks in her arsenal. She soon was called to heal Kankuro of his injuries by Sasori. Kakashi also went off to discuss more details of the mission by the village elders, leaving Naruto and Yoruichi by themselves at the hospital. "I'm surprised that you haven't shot off into the desert yet to find your friend," she said, giving her young student a pleased look. Naruto shook his head slowly as he continued to pace around the hallway, "I can't tell you how much I just want to beat the Akatsuki's faces in, but that would mess up the mission," he chuckled sadly. "So here I stay." She put a hand on his shoulder, "Don't worry, we're going to get your friend back," she said, giving him a Cheshire-cat like grin. Before he could thank her, a loud voice shouted at them from down the hallway.

"You! You're that woman!"

Yoruichi's eyes narrowed as she turned around slowly to look at the person who shouted at her. It was an old lady who was wearing a long, dark, dress and a white hat. She was about to carefully tell the lady that she did not know her; the woman was probably a patient there and was confused. But there was something about the woman that just rang a bell inside of her. "Don't look at me like I'm crazy," the woman whispered harshly, "you're the Shinigami woman who saved me when I was a little girl!" she whispered as she pointed proudly at her head, "I don't forget anything!" The Shinigami woman gave her a confused look and started to think deeply, "Was it that time where you were nearly kidnapped by another village? It was before this village was established, right?" she asked. The old woman nodded sagely and sat down next to her, "Mmhm! Yes! It was mere months before this village came to be, I was nine years old and my father was a noble." Yoruichi smiled softly at the woman and stood up, "Thank you for jogging my memory, but I think you should get back to your room. The nurses wouldn't want you to wander around like this." A large tick mark appeared on the woman's forehead as she crossed her arms indignantly and huffed.

"I'm not a patient here! I'm the head village elder, Chiyo!"

Naruto's eyes widened as he too stood up, "But why are you here now?" he asked rudely.

"Silly boy! I'm going on this mission with you!"

"Huh?"

* * *

**Sorry that there wasn't any action in this chapter, it's been ages since I wrote anything for it since I was already writing another popular story. Thanks for reading!**


	11. Chapter 11

"I'm sending you two in as backup to support Team Kakashi."

The two individuals nodded sharply as they received their orders, failure was not an option.

"Anything else we need to know?"

Their leader smirked briefly, but their expression turned serious just as quick.

"Yes, don't die."

* * *

"How are you doing back there, Grandma Chiyo?"

"That's Chiyo-sama, you fool!"

Naruto grimaced for a fleeting moment as the old woman that was on his back processed to clunk him on the back of head with her bag. It was so ironic that someone who was just as old as a grandmother refused to accept it, yet Tsunade, who doesn't have children or grandchildren, ignored it. "Pakkun, how close are we?" Naruto shouted loudly as the dog turned around. "Close, I smell some Akatsuki about 1000 meters ahead, prepare for battle."

Yoruichi let out a small amount of spirit energy, so small that even Naruto couldn't feel it. The dog was correct after all; there was one energy source not too far from them. It felt a bit below average, but very refined. _"We can take this guy," _she thought to herself as she evaluated the team. Barely using twenty five percent of her strength, she wasn't sure if the team they had was strong enough to handle battles with more enemies

Kakashi seemed like he could handle himself, but his energy was small. Sakura's energy was even smaller than his, but she had great control over it. She'd have to stay out of the imminent battle. Chiyo's energy wasn't feeble, it was slightly below average, and Yoruichi could tell that she was suppressing it.

"Itachi Uchiha!"

The cat woman blinked in mild surprise as he listened to stern shout to the man. Not realizing that they had arrived, she quickly looked at the man. The man was wearing a black cloak with red clouds on it. Average height, long black hair tied into a ponytail, and red eyes. "Itachi Uchiha, heir to the great Uchiha Clan, as well as their murderer," Chiyo reminisced aloud as she got into a battle stance. "It's been a while since I've seen the Sharingan."

"What can this Sharingan do?" Yoruichi questioned calmly as she avoided the man's intense gaze.

"Copy and predict movements, see chakra, and use hypnosis," Kakashi replied almost automatically as he went to push his forehead protector up.

"DAMN YOU!"

Naruto could feel his nails dig into his palms as he glared at the man who single-handedly ruined Sasuke's life. The nerve of Itachi even showing his face here was sickening. "You bastard! How could you do this to Gaara?" he shouted at the man, who merely pushed his bangs out of his face, not answering. Naruto took a threatening step forward as he drew Benihime from her hilt, but Yoruichi stretched a hand out. "No, you, Sakura, and Chiyo are staying back," she looked to Kakashi, "Let's start off.

Itachi closed his eyes and began to whiz through hand signs, "Watch his fire techniques, Uchiha's are experts at that," Kakashi warned. Not even a second later, a giant fire ball came zooming towards them. Yoruichi stretched out her hands, "Bakudo #39: Enkosen!" The fire ball immediate dissipated as soon as it hit the shield, leaving smoke everywhere. She immediately used her spirit energy to find out that Itachi had moved a few meters to the left and used her next spell. "Hado #32: Okasen!"

Boom.

There was a large explosion that ruined the ground in the surrounding area, a bit too much in her opinion. She hoped that she didn't kill him, she needed answers. Only a few steps were taken forward by her before she heard a deep, smooth voice.

"Quite impressive, Yoruichi Shihoin."

Her eyes widened in shock, how had he gotten past her? It was impossible! She turned around quickly to see Itachi standing only a few meters behind her, a hand dangling lazily from the front of his cloak. She didn't even have a moment to react when Naruto flashed stepped above the Uchiha prodigy, his Zanpakuto ready to slice the man in half. "Die, bastard!" he shouted as she slashed. Itachi merely put up a hand to grab Naruto by his hand on the sword and throw him back. He skidded on the ground before the rest of the group and got up slowly.

"Naruto! Calm down!" Kakashi reprimanded his student sternly, "He is way out of your league, let me and Yoruichi handle this! Lightning blade!" Kakashi exclaimed as he rushed at Itachi.

Then he wasn't there anymore.

He appeared again about a dozen meters away from then. "This doesn't feel right," Kakashi said to Yoruichi, "this has to be a genjutsu, but I can't feel it."

Yoruichi merely shrugged her shoulders, "I may not know much about that, but either way we have to win here." She looked back at Naruto and twitched her eyebrows three times. His eyes widened for a moment, but then he quickly nodded. The rest of the group was confused.

"_What are they planning?"_

"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!"

A volley of small fire balls were fired at Kakashi and Yoruichi, there were almost too many to count. "Kakashi! Fall back!" Yoruichi yelled at the team leader as she dodged the fire balls with ease. Even if he led the team, he did have to admit when he was outclassed. He would rather do whatever he needed to do to keep the mission from failing rather than keeping his pride. Naruto took his place and smiled at his purple haired mentor. "You ready?" he called out. She gave him a thumbs up as she flashed stepped to the opposite side of Itachi so that he was surrounded.

They both started to flash step a circle around Itachi at blinding speeds, leaving numerous after images behind. Blinding streaks of yellow and purple whizzed around as the winds picked up and the ground began to shake. "Such power!" Chiyo exclaimed as she struggled to keep her balance. Kakashi could barely see what was happening, even with his Sharingan. Was this truly the strength of Shinigami?

Itachi was struggling to keep on his feet; the amount of energy was staggering. If the nine-tailed Jinchuriki was capable of so much power, then his purple haired accomplice must be stronger. She could be a valuable asset to the Akatsuki if detained. He started to form the hand signs for a water jutsu that could disrupt their movements.

"Bakudo #61: Rikujokoro!

Six thin, yellow beams struck Itachi right in his midsection. He tried to move his arms that were free, but they wouldn't move at all. Yoruichi smiled widely at him, "You're out of luck now! Alright Naruto, go ahead!"

"Wind Style: Grand Rasengan!

Two shadow clones of Naruto dropped from the sky, heading directly at Itachi. Naruto could only use this technique in the sky because it could dissipate before it hit the target, so falling from the sky help him to maintain it. Seconds before Itachi Uchiha's life flashes before his eyes, he flashes a small smile as he closes his eyes. He had done his job right, he didn't mind dying. As long as it helped Master, he would satisfy. Blood spurted from his mouth on impact and he opened one of his eyes again; the tomoe spinning rapidly as Naruto stared into it.

"Well done, Naruto Uzumaki."

"N-Naruto…"

The blond boy opened his eyes slowly and groaned, he was lying down in an all-white space that looked like it expanded in every direction possible. A couple dozen meters from him lay a still figure that was breathing shallowly. For some reason he broke out in a sprint, something was telling him to get there as quick as possible. When he arrived there, he could feel his hear rise to his throat.

"Idiot, g-gentlemen don't g-gawk."

Yoruichi was sprawled out of the ground in a puddle of her own blood and her clothes her ripped almost everywhere; her hair was also cut choppily, some parts shorter than others. She smirked and laughed weakly, "What, c-cat got y-your tongue?" she questioned before she coughed up more blood. His eyes were wide in shock as he fell to his knees, tears flowing from his eyes.

"No! NO! Don't die, I-I'm gonna heal you!"

"No. Don't bother. I'm a…goner."

A weak blue aura surrounded his hands as he pressed them to her stomach, which was slashed beyond recognition. He had found some scrolls on their trip about medical kido written by someone named Unohana, and he tried to teach himself. Yoruichi gave him a protesting look and slowly lifted a hand to bat away his. "W-what…did I just say?" she scolded softly as she reached for his cheek. "J-just promise something…." She said as her bright golden eyes began to fade into a bronze color. "W-what?" Naruto whimpered.

"Be…yourself…know who you are. And maybe…you'll find happiness."

The light completely dimmed from her eyes.

"Ahh!"

"Calm down, Naruto, it was a genjutsu!"

Naruto head spun as his vision slowly came back; he was lying on the ground and Sakura and Chiyo were on different sides of him, their hands on his cheeks. Kakashi was crouched down above his head, watching his chakra flow. Yoruichi was standing up a few feet away, giving him a look. A look that said more things than she could've possibly said out loud. "Itachi put me under a genjutsu?" Naruto queried of Kakashi, who put his headband right back over his Sharingan.

"It wasn't Itachi; it was some sort of substitution. The Sunagakure told us of two rouge jonin that abandoned the village only three days before Gaara was kidnapped."

He pointed to the body, and it was indeed a substitution of the Suna jonin.

"It was a distraction," Naruto deadpanned as he stood up. All of that time wasted for nothing, and who knows how far they could be right now?

Yoruichi stretched her arms and yawned, "No point in complaining about it now, let's get going." She gestured for Chiyo to get on her back and the group continued on their journey to save Gaara.

* * *

"Hmm, it appears that there is a Shinigami amongst them," a smooth voice rang out as he finished their hand signs.

"Been a while since I've heard of those, I thought they were folk tales," a second voice piped up skeptically.

"Imagine the bounty on a Shinigami," a deeper voice said airily.

"Imagine the blood!" a higher voice retorted.

"They'll tremble in horror in the presence of my art, hmm!" a dramatic voice exclaimed loudly."

"Quiet, fool. We're in the middle of something."

"Even if a Shinigami is amongst them; that does not mean that our plan will change. Everything shall go according to plan," the last person said quietly, and that immediately halted the conversation. There was a green glow in the room and the leader went through their hand signs quickly.

"Now, let us begin."

* * *

Zooming through the trees, the pair hoped that they could catch up to the others before anything else bad can happen. Shuhei turned to Rangiku, who was bringing up the rear, "Don't you find it strange that nothing's come at us since we've left?" he asked her as he observantly looked around. The woman shrugged, "It's weird, but then again, I'm not surprised. We're going pretty fast." They ended up near a large lake to take a rest; and right when they were getting comfortable, a sudden rush of energy out of nowhere appeared before them.

The power was near monstrous.

"Rangiku," Shuhei said as he unsheathed his Zanpakuto on reflex. He looked over and saw that her Zanpakuto was at the ready as well. Whoever was following them hadn't shown themselves yet, but they could still feel the power.

"We know someone is here, show yourself!" Rangiku shouted out as she looked around for movement. As much as she didn't want to run out so suddenly, it had to be done. The Hokage had to come to them in private to ask them to follow Team Kakashi. She had way too much to do and kept putting the treaty aside, and she needed a big favor.

"Oh, you found me!"

The two lieutenants immediately whirled around to see a tall man with blue skin and spikey hair pointing something large at them that was wrapped in bandages. He grinned and his pointy, shark like teeth came into view. He was also wearing a black cloak.

With red clouds.

"He's Akatsuki," Hisagi murmured as he got into a battle stance, "this is the one that can absorb energy, tread carefully, Rangiku."

She nodded briskly, knowing that this man could easily wipe out the power that she had left. These energy limiters that were put of them only had them fighting at about a third of their strength, so using Shikai may be unavoidable. There was a great lake behind them, and this man was notorious for his prowess in Water Style Jutsu. It felt like everything was against him. They could use their spirit energy and float in the air!

They both levitated above ground until they were about two hundred feet above the man, who gazed at them lazily. "How am I supposed to kill you if you're all the way up there?" he groused as he leaned against his sword.

"Let's take him out in one hit," Hisagi said as he stuck out his left hand, "Bakudo #63: Sajo Sabaku!"

Long yellow tendrils of energy erupted and shot down quickly to the man, who didn't even react when they wrapped around his whole body. He had managed to keep a grip on his sword, however. "Rangiku," Hisagi said as he stepped back and she stepped forward and put out both of her hands.

"_Sprinkled on the bones of the beast! Sharp tower, red crystal, steel ring. Move and become the wind, stop and become the calm. The sound of warring spears fills the empty castle!"_

Yellow spirit energy began to form in her hand and she aimed it down at the shark man, causing a big explosion.

"Got him in one hit," she bragged as they lowered themselves to the ground.

"You used an incantation, I did not," Hisagi retorted.

Rangiku was ready to respond with a snarkly comment, but they heard movement. The shark man was still alive! His cloak was torn off in several places, but overall he was fine. He grinned nastily at the lieutenants as he picked up his sword.

"Thank you for the snack."


	12. Chapter 12

"What should we do now? He can suck away our Spirit Energy!"

"I guess we're going to have to use our Zanpakutos only until we can find a way to get rid of him."

Hisagi gritted his teeth in frustration as he glared at Kisame, who was grinning at them widely; his sharp teeth gleaming in the sunlight. "Come on now, don't tell me that you're about to give up," he taunted as he leaned against his sword as he squirmed underneath its bandages, "I'm just starting to have fun. How about-"

"Haahhh!"

Hisagi shunpoed behind him and slashed at Kisame's shoulder, causing the sleeve of his cloak to get ripped away and resulting in a shallow wound in his shoulder. "Got you," Hisagi whispered as he returned to Rangiku's side, who was now on the ground. "He's slow," she commented observantly as she held Haineko horizontally, "Growl, Haineko!"

Hisagi raised a confused eyebrow, "I didn't think you even wanted to fight now."

Rangiku raised the bladeless hilt of her Zanpakuto and chuckled, "I just feel like it, it's been a while," she said as a large ash cloud surrounded their enemy. A few small slashes of the hilt had Kisame roaring in rage. His fruitless attempts at escaping the ash cloud only added to his injuries. "Damn you Shinigami!" he roared as he slashed at the ash.

"It looks like your Zanpakuto's gotten stronger," Hisagi commented to himself as he noticed that the amount of ash had increased exponentially; Rangiku was probably close to Bankai at this point. After the Winter War, it seemed like everyone in the Soul Society was trying to master Bankai. It sent plenty of people to Squad 4, however, some people weren't meant to master it.

"Neko Rinbu!"

Hisagi barely had a chance to return his focus back onto the battle before he heard a blood-curdling scream coming from the tornado of ash, followed by a large stream of blood that exploded from it. "Well, that takes care of that," Rangiku yawned lightly as her Zanpakuto returned to its original form and sheathed it. "So bloodthirsty," Shuhei exclaimed in awe, trying to comprehend what he had just saw. He was just about to sheathe his Zanpakuto, but heard a loud laugh.

"You think I'd die so easily?"

The pair reflexively drew their swords and turned around to see their enemy, completely healed, standing on a tree trunk. He cackled loudly and pointed in the direction of his 'corpse', "You're supposed to check to see if the prey's dead," he sneered as his 'body' disintegrated into water. "What the hell's this?" Rangiku gaped as her hands trembled slightly on the handle of her Zanpakuto.

"It's the Water Clone Jutsu," Shuhei responded, "Hitsugaya-taicho and I did some research on Shinobi techniques." The two men had the foresight to prepare themselves by studying as much as they could about the things that Shinobi did on a regular basis. Rangiku was off slacking off or getting drunk at the sake house, one or the other.

Kisame smirked and sheathed his sword and folded his hands together, as if he was about to pray. "This seems like a pretty inconvenient time for prayer," Rangiku huffed.

"Water Style: Exploding Water Colliding Wave!"

* * *

"Hngh!"

He gripped his forehead as he groaned in pain, there was something wrong, very wrong. Ever since their battle had ended with Itachi, Naruto felt off; like there was something clawing at him from the inside out. He was thankful that Yoruichi took to carrying Chiyo on her back; he would surely drop her if he tried.

"Naruto."

He turned to his right and saw Yoruichi giving him a calculating glare. _"Damn, she knows," _he panicked to himself as he forced a grin. "Yeah?" he questioned her with a strange voice that he tried to cover up with a cough. "Nothing," she said lightly as she sped up slightly to be a few feet ahead of him. He sighed in relief, glad that she didn't try to press the matter further. Only a few moments had passed before his vision began to swirl around and he fell off of the tree, hurtling towards the ground.

He saw Yoruichi whirl around in panic and Chiyo expertly hopping off of her back to let his mentor come after him. Before completely slipping out of consciousness, he felt her soft, yet strong arms wrap around him as they plummeted towards the ground.

"Hey asshole! Ya forgot about me already?!"

"Huh?!"

Naruto found himself in his inner landscape, lying spread eagle in a large puddle of water. He attempted to sit up, but his muscles wouldn't respond to any of his attempts. "Haruto! Let me go!" he yelled out.

"Haruto? What the hell kinda name is that?"

His inner hollow stormed out of the shadows and towered over his prone form and sneered. "You coulda been a lil' more creative, ya know!" he spat out indignantly as he stomped down on Naruto's ribs. The boy's yell of pain further spurred on his inner demon and he continued to cause the young shinobi pain.

"Let him go!"

A beam of red light zoomed across the water right towards Haruto's head, and it would have decapitated him if he hadn't drawn his own Zanpakuto and sent back a green beam of light to meet it halfway. Naruto gulped in some much needed air and looked around hurriedly to see Benihime holding a sword in her Shikai form. "If anyone's going to do away with him, it's going to be me!"

Haruto grinned widely and laughed, "Oh, so now you wanna help this runt! I didn't kill ya cuz' I thought I could get more power from ya, but now I'm gonna kill ya once and for all! Haaah!" With an upward slash of his Zanpakuto, a huge green crescent arc of energy exploded from the tip of his sword and sped directly towards Benihime. With the last amount of energy he had left, Naruto screamed.

"Benihime, run!"

Benihime merely smirked at Naruto and raised her sword, "Chikasumi no Tate," she stated calmly as the beam of energy disintegrated on impact. "Do you really think that such a weak beam of energy could kill me?" she taunted as he sheathed her sword. The hollow's face contorted in rage, "How the hell didn't that kill ya? I put all my energy into that!" he shouted at her, feeling frustrated.

Benihime sighed and ran a hand through her long, red hair. "It's simple, you are a part of Naruto, and Naruto is a part of you. Since Naruto is weaker than me now, so are you," a smirk slipped its way onto her small face. She summoned a small ball of red energy of her pinky finger and launched towards Naruto and it embedded itself in his forehead. "Even though you haven't earned it yet, I just gave you access to a new technique," she frowned at him, "don't make me regret it."

Instead of launching more beams of energy at Benihime, Haruto laughed sardonically and summoned a dark ball of energy in his hands. "Ya gonna have to get stronger, or else I can't take over! Now get outta here!" he shouted as he dropped the energy ball on him.

* * *

"Naruto! Wake up!"

He opened his eyes groggily and saw Sakura hovering over him, using her medical ninjutsu to heal him. "S-Sakura-chan?!" he exclaimed in surprise as he sat up, "Where's Haruto and Benihime?!"

She gave him a shocked look as he opened his eyes but quickly regained her composure, "I don't know what you're talking about, but you fainted and Yoruichi caught you," she pointed over Naruto's head, and he turned to see Yoruichi yelling furiously into a 'cell phone' or whatever the Shinigami call it.

"When the hell are you going to get here? We're running out of time!" she exclaimed furiously, and the rest of her group started to sweat slightly from the amount of Spiritual Pressure that was wafting off of her.

"Calm down, will ya? The old fart hasn't said anything to me yet, and I can't just waltz outta here like I'm goin' to a tea party!" Shinji exclaimed as he slammed a hand on his desk. It was difficult to get back into running a division after 110 years of solitary confinement from any outside source.

At this point in time, Yoruichi would attempt to use her status as a noble to somehow persuade Yamamoto to let Shinji come to the Human World, but even that would be nearly impossible. After the Winter War, the Shihoin clan was quick to offer the place of Clan Head back to Yoruichi, probably because it would help the clan regain prominence, but she refused. She didn't like being the Clan Head 100 years ago, and she didn't now. Her cousin Taro was much more capable than her. They insisted that she rejoin the clan as a high ranking elder, and to keep them from badgering her, she accepted.

"I understand," she sighed in defeat as she calmed herself, much to the relief of her companions, "what can I do now to keep his inner hollow from popping back out again?"

Shinji merely chuckled good-naturedly as he balanced pencils on their tips on his desk, "That's entirely up to the kid," he said sagely, "it's up to him whether or not that hollow takes over. The kid ain't nothin' like Ichigo."

He was right about that, Ichigo and Naruto were two completely different humans with completely different powers. Ichigo came from a family of spiritually aware people, while Naruto had not, to her knowledge, he didn't even have any family.

"Yeah, alright, thanks again," she said lightly and hung up her phone. She turned around and saw Naruto walking up to her. His spirit energy was nearly back to normal, but it was still fluctuating a bit. "T-they were fighting, inside me, and she won," he said weakly. Yoruichi also noticed that his right eye was black with a golden iris.

She didn't even need to press for details, already knowing that Benihime fought against Naruto's hollow and won. It wasn't surprising, when Kisuke materialized her to fight so that he could attain Bankai, she fought like a demon. Her name was an oxymoron to her personality.

"I spoke to Shinji."

"What did he say?"

"He said that it's up to you to control your hollow now," she said quietly as she placed a hand on his chest, "you need to get stronger."

The black and gold faded away from his eyes as he smiled confidently at her, "I think she's starting to warm up to me now, I can't wait to learn to master Bankai!"

"Slow your roll there, you still haven't mastered your Shikai!"

"Benihime taught me a new Shikai technique, it's called Kamisori!"

Instead of arguing further with Naruto about his mastery of Benihime, she gestured to the rest of the group, who had been watching the pair curiously.

"Let's keep going, we can't waste any more time!"

* * *

"Agh, that monster got my outfit wet!"

Rangiku wrung out the hem of her Shinigami robes as she and Shuhei hid in the surrounding forest to come up with a plan to fight Kisame. The lieutenants had both fought their share of battles and were rarely surprised by anything, but this Akatsuki member was something else. He flooded the whole battlefield by just spitting out the water. Shuhei shook the water out of his ebony hair and sighed, "Tsunade-sama warned us about this man, he has a monstrous power level and is a master at water style jutsu."

Rangiku yanked her hair into a ponytail and huffed, "He'll pay for what he did to my outfit; it cost nearly a quarter of my monthly paycheck!" Even though she was zoning out during Tsunade's hurried explanation of their mission, she knew that it was only that weird bandaged sword that absorbed energy, not the man himself. And he can't use any of that water jutsu if he can't use his hands either.

"Shuhei! I have an idea!" she popped up excitedly.

"Is it about getting that guy away from his sword? If so," he smiled at her, "we're both on the right track." His expression soon turned serious, "The only problem is how we're going to get him to separate from it." He gestured for her to come closer to whisper her plan in his ear. Smiling slightly, he nodded.

The pair both used their spirit energy to create a platform so that they could stand above the large mass of water. The manmade lake had to be at least a few dozen feet deep since the water came up half way of the massive trees. Kisame was standing leisurely on the surface of the water. He smiled cheekily at them and raised his sword. "This is the first time I've seen the prey come back to the predator!" he shouted as he raised himself up on a wave and came hurtling towards them.

"Rangiku, get ready!"

Shuhei quickly shunpoed directly above Kisame and waited until the man slashed at him. "Fool! Die!" Kisame shouted gleefully as he aimed an upwards slash at the lieutenant. At the last second, Shuhei dodged the slash, shunpoed behind Kisame, and sliced off his hand, causing him to drop the sword into the water. "Aghh!" he cried as he clutched the bleeding stub, "Damn it!" Shuhei quickly retreated back to where he left Rangiku, where she was uttering a Bakudo Spell.

"Bakudo #4:" she thrust out her hands towards Kisame, who was kneeling on top of the water, "Hainawa!"

A long tendril of bright yellow rope shot out from Rangiku's hands and wrapped its way around Kisame's body, immobilizing him. He struggled fruitlessly against the bonds, not having enough energy to break out of them. "What the-? What kind of magic is this?"

"Finish him off, Shuhei!" Rangiku yelled.

_Sprinkled on the bones of the beast! Sharp tower, red crystal, steel ring. Move and become the wind, stop and become the calm. The sound of warring spears fills the empty castle! Hado #63: Raikoho!"_

A large ball of light whizzed around in Shuhei's palm before he thrust his hand forward and shout the lightning bolt straight towards Kisame. Before the bolt of lightning hit him, Shuhei swore that he saw a smile on the man before the explosion below.

Rangiku waved a hand in front of her face and coughed, "Using a lightning style kido on a watery battle field, very smart Shuhei-kun!" she purred as she hugged him.

He quickly turned his face away from her to hide his blush and pointed down at the now floating corpse of Kisame, "Let's make sure that's the real one."

As soon as they touched down next to the corpse, they knew that something was wrong, very wrong. Instead of looking down at the floating body of a large, blue skinned man, they found the body of a small man with brown hair.

"The hell?" Rangiku exclaimed in agitation, "How much time did we waste from that?"

Hisagi glanced at his wristwatch, it was near indestructible according to Mayuri Kurotsuchi. "About a half an hour," he mumbled. "Never mind that now, I can sense Yoruichi-san's Spiritual Pressure about three miles from here, let's go."


End file.
